


Naruto: Saisei

by MentalMelodies



Series: Naruto: Saisei [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-03 07:29:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 38,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5282120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MentalMelodies/pseuds/MentalMelodies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a new story that I came up with where every character in the book is an OC, but of course there's Naruto and everyone else. Even though I already made the story for this, you can still sign up for a part because I'm also planning on making a second book. Or maybe even a series if I'm up for it. But, here's the link anyway: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1gWa45DHTa_aZSnHWfScjyncg-Cp1Oxm3vMa_M4i-CSA/viewform</p></blockquote>





	1. Shino

     "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Shino yelled, he was starting to feel weary from using the jutsu again. Shino had been trying all day and yet, all he could make were two sad clones. He couldn't possibly be able to make at least four in time for the first day of the Academy. Plus, he had to accomplish this before everyone else knew that he wasn't fully capable of conjuring them yet. Everyone in every class that he had been to knew that he was the strongest and the best at everything he did. Shino just couldn't understand why he was having so much trouble with something so simple.

    He sighed and glanced over at the clones right before they turned into two medium sized clouds of smoke. This was the exact same problem the Hokage had when he was a kid, except he became a ninja just by saving his teacher from a weirdo who was able to turn into some kind of demented tiger. Unfortunately, things like that only happen to certain people and Shino just wasn't apart of that crowd.

     "Goddamn it, what kind of Uchiha fails at making two shitty clones?" Shino grumbled to himself. He wiped his forehead and began to leave, he had done that technique way too many times for his body's comfort.

     "Aw, leaving so soon? They were actually starting to look like people," a girl's voice said from behind him. Okay, so maybe _one_ person from his class knew he wasn't the best at _everything._ "What the hell do you want, Hina?" Shino asked, but he already knew the answer. For some strange reason, Hina always enjoyed picking on him and him only. He never really knew why either.

     "You better hope that you don't get put into a shitty team. But, then again, they can probably summon better clones than you." Hina smirked. Shino saw that she was clearly enjoying this. "Whatever, Hina. I'd rather be put on a team full of babies than be in one with you in it."

     Hina opened her mouth to say something else, but then hesitated and glared at Shino. "Damn you, Shino. If you do manage to get on the same team as me, I'll make your life a living hell," she snarled. Shino rolled his eyes and continued walking through the trees. He didn't have the energy to deal with the demon spawn, plus if he did, he'd probably have better things to do than do that.

     "Hey, wait up, doofus!" Hina yelled. Shino grunted and continued walking, the sound of twigs crunching was starting to catch up with him. "What do you want now?" Shino asked when Hina finally caught up and was walking beside him.

     Hina chuckled and ran her fingers through her short purple hair. "You're gonna see _her_ again aren't you?" She sneered. Shino grimaced and walked a little faster, he was beginning to see the roofs of houses and apartments. "Why do you even care?" Shino retorted. "What, do you like her or something? Well, sorry if I'm getting in between you and your precious girlfriend."

     Shino smirked and looked over at Hina. Her face had turned a dark shade of maroon and she started to stutter, trying to find the right words for a comeback. "Hm? What was that?" He asked teasingly, holding a hand up to his ear. "I can't really understand you, could you speak a bit louder? Or maybe form actual words?" Hina's face reddened even more, but it was of anger.

     "I...don't...care..." she muttered, and looked away. Shino smiled even more. "Well, good. I'm leaving now, better hope that you get on a team that's not crappy. See ya," he said, running off before Hina could say anything else. The first day of the Academy was going to start in a few days and he needed help - big time.

     Shino trained his chakra to his feet and jumped onto the nearest building.  _Since she said that she was so good at this type of stuff, than she probably won't have a problem with helping me,_  he thought as he jumped from roof to roof. The wind whistled in his ears and blew back his hair. He smirked, even though his body was exhausted from training, he at least had enough chakra to do this.

If he was going to get her to agree, Shino had to make sure that he had something that was worth bribing her for. He stuck his hand in the pack that he kept on his waist and felt around. "Where is it? Please tell me I have it..." Shino murmured as he fished around deeper, a couple seconds passed until his hand gently clasped over the soft and mildly warm chocolate bar.

     He sighed and took his hand out. Now, all he had to do was make sure that she was still in the same spot. Blurred images of shops, movie theaters, and other buildings and companies flashed past him as he moved on. He finally stopped on top of a white-brick tea shop and spa. The strong smell of lemon and wild berries wafted through the air and Shino sighed, feeling relaxed.

     Whenever people walked past this shop, they would always feel so calm and would often briefly forget about what they were doing. It was as if the smells of the tea put a de-stressing spell on anyone that walked by.  _No wonder I always see her hanging around this place. Either that or she really likes tea._ Shino thought and made his way off of the roof.

     The smell got much stronger when he got near the door and embraced him as he stepped inside. Everything was either white or beige and it was so right in there that Shino had to basically squint to see properly. There were beige couches sitting against the walls with glass coffee tables on his far left and to his right was a receptionists desk hidden behind a large oval-like whole in the beige wall. As he looked around there were quite a few people (mostly women) dressed in white and whispering with each other. It was so quiet in there that he could clearly hear the water trickling in one of those weird, wooden waterfall things that was sitting on the wall in front of the receptionist's desk.

     Shino had never really been in a spa before, given the fact that he thought those types of things were stupid, so he never really attempted to visit one. Well, until now. She had told him to visit her here (in the late afternoons) whenever he needed help with something important. Shino took a mental note to ask her why she wanted him to meet up with her in a spa. "Do you need anything, sir?" A lady asked him. Shino flinched and looked up at a woman (probably in her early twenties) who suddenly appeared in front of him. "Oh, I-I'm looking for someone. She's my height with dark hair and, er, brightly colored eyes," Shino said. He wasn't really good at descriptions.

     The woman stared at him for a moment, her eyes half-lidded and her facial expression screaming, _"I'd rather be relaxing at this spa than working."_ Shino was already starting to get annoyed with her. That wasn't really a surprise, though, since a lot of people get on his nerves and he just plainly didn't like everyone. "You do know that you could just tell us her name and we'll pull it up, right?" She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

     Irritating wasn't even the correct word to describe this woman now. But, Shino took a deep breath and smiled at the lady as if he was also trying to swallow gravel with a dry throat while doing so. "Well, can you look her up, then? I would have really appreciated it if you said that earlier without me looking like an idiot." The woman smiled pleasantly at him and walked over to the desk. "Name?" She asked him, her voice laced with iciness.

     "Mikasai Cloud," he replied, his eyes were now glued to the floor. The woman began typing for a couple seconds and then pushed herself away from the desk. "Ms. Mikasai is in room one thirty-three, she was scheduled for a manicure," she said while stepping aside and extending her hand to a door at the other end of the room. "Please walk through that door and go straight. Don't stop until you've passed five doors on your right. She's in the room after the fifth."

     "Thanks," Shino said nonchalantly and rushed across the room, dodging women carrying baskets of supplies. He almost bumped into a guy that was too busy staring at his clipboard and walking who knows where.

     The hallway was surprisingly dim, not bright enough for Shino to see exactly everything, but also not dark enough for him to barely make out anything. Following what the lady said, Shino began walking straight ahead. Every door on either side of him had a small glass window that also showed dimly lit rooms. In one of the rooms on his left, he could just make out a dark-skinned guy that was sitting in a chair with a lady knelling at his side, filing away at his nails. He had a content smile on his face and Shino couldn't really look close enough to see if he was talking to the lady or not.

     When he passed the five doors, he stopped at the sixth one and quietly knocked. The door opened quickly the second he removed his hand. A rather tall (and sort of buff) lady with curly blonde hair and almost obsidian eyes. She looked down at Shino with stony look on her face. Shino stared up at the towering woman, his left eye twitching. "Well?" The woman asked, Shino didn't expect her voice to be so deep. "What do you want, boy?" She glared down at him and pursed her glossy lips.

     "The desk lady sent me to see Cloud. She is in this room, right?" Shino replied, trying hard not to show any signs of emotion. The woman grunted and stepped aside. Shino walked in and quickly spotted Cloud sitting in a large cushioned chair in the middle of the room. She had her eyes closed and smiled contently with a steaming cup of tea siting on a small table next to her chair. There was a young lady sitting on a polished wooden stool, buffing Cloud's nails as she sighed and turned her head away from Shino.

     "Azumi, there's a boy that wants to see Ms. Mikasai. Let her be for now." Azumi nodded and quickly gathered her things. She bent over Cloud and plucked two earplugs from her ears and whispered to her. Cloud nodded and smiled at Shino. "Ms. Mikasai, we will be back in a couple minutes. Please make this talk quick," the tall woman announced and took one last look at Shino before crossing the room and leaving through another door. Cloud shifted in her seat and beamed at Shino.

     "What's her problem?" Shino asked once he knew that both women were out of ear shot. Cloud scoffed and twirled some of the dark blue strands in her side ponytail. "That's Chikara. She has this whole thing with boys and stuff, so that's why she was so skeptical of you." Cloud explained as if it was nothing to be concerned of. "Plus, she's like the younger version of Tsunade." Shino hummed in reply.

     "Oh, it's really comforting to know that I'll be body-slammed by a buff lady who looks like the previous Hokage." Cloud looked at Shino with a pained expression plastered on her face. Shino sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It was meant to be a joke. Duh..." He said, weakly. "Oh!" Exclaimed Cloud, she wasn't at all good at acting surprised.

     "Anyway, what did you want again?" She asked quickly, clearly trying to change the subject. Shino didn't blame her. Since he wasn't that much of a people person, it was sort of awkward whenever he tried to crack jokes at random. Which wasn't really often.

     "I came here to ask if you could help me with one of my jutsus. But, don't laugh when I tell you which one, seriously." Cloud scoffed and softly punched Shino's shoulder. "Don't worry, dude! Have I ever made fun of you?" Cloud asked, winking. This statement basically had the word "lie" written all over it, and Shino knew that. "Do you  _really_ want me to answer that?" Asked Shino.

     This earned a groan from Cloud as she pulled herself out of the chair. She stretched for a while and turned back to meet the raven's eyes. "Fine," said Cloud in a stressed tone. "What do ya want?"

     "I want you to help me with shadow clones. I even have a chocolate bar just in case I had to bribe you to do it." He held out the chocolate bar for her to take and she gradually snatched it out of his hands. "Shadow Clones? Isn't that like, kiddie stuff?" Cloud asked skeptically. Shino groaned and began to pace the room. He was beginning to get frustrated with this whole thing. If only she knew the amount of trouble he had gone through to not walk out on the annoying desk lady. If only she knew...

     "Dude, I'm just saying I mean, you  _are_ an Uchiha. Usually this kind of stuff would be easy for you." Cloud continued. Shino finally growled and threw his hands in the air. "Fine if you're not going to help me, then I'll just leave then. You can call the gorilla back in." He snapped, taking long strides towards the door. At that moment, the back door burst open and the two women stepped in. Chikara looked over at Shino, with his hand almost touching the doorknob, and smiled. "Good, leave, boy. Your time has been up a while ago. We shall get back to work."

     "Wait!" Cloud exclaimed before Shino could open the door. "Go to training ground twenty-one, I'll meet you there." Shino smirked and nodded in reply before pulling the door open and walking out. He just hoped that this would help him before the first day of school.


	2. Shino

_Thunk!_ The rock landed softly in the dirt and rolled away. Shino sighed from absolute boredom. _What the hell is Cloud doing? It's been almost a freaking hour!_ He thought bitterly as he picked up another rock and aimed it at the tree he had thrown the previous rock at. A little target was carved into the bark made by one of Shino's kunai knives. The wind had picked up a little, Shino raised his arm a bit more and drew it back. A couples minutes passed before Shino threw his arm forward with as much force as he could muster. The rock didn't even get to leave his fingers before Shino heard a guttural yell, that sounded distinctly female, and a large explosion coming from the middle of the forest behind the training grounds.  
  
    The rock had sailed unsteadily from his fingers and hit the edge of the outer ring on the target. It then flew past him and into the pond behind him with a loud and deep bloop sound. It was then that another explosion went off, it sounded as though it was closer than before. Shino stood quickly and stared in the direction the explosion had came from. The person who was making all of the noise must have really been battling it out with someone else. He jogged over to the opening of the forest and jumped into the trees.  
  
 _Since Cloud made me wait for so long, she shouldn't say anything if I was late coming back to meet her,_ Shino thought. He moved swiftly through the trees, following the sound of knives clanking and a couple more explosions. Shino made it to the clearing of Ground Twenty-two and saw a boy and a girl standing a couple feet away from each other. Both of them were very dirty and looked as though they were panting hard. The boy huffed and pushed his blonde hair out of his face. "Looks like someone improved," he said to the girl.  
  
    Shino moved down to a lower branch to get a better look. He decided to spend some time here to see how the fight turned out. The girl scoffed, putting her hand on her hip. "Of course I have, Jirou. What do you think I do on my free time?" She replied, a playful smirk on her face. Jirou put his hands together and began weaving hand signs. About three shadow clones appeared behind him. "I don't know," Jirou said as the three clones ran towards the girl. "Probably spying on me and marveling at my sheer sexiness."  
  
    The girl scoffed a second time and threw punches at the clones and a couple at the actual Jirou who decided to join in. "Oh please! Why would I want to waste my time spying on you while I always see you making googly eyes at that boy who works part-time at the dango shop."  
  
    She swung her right foot around to kick Jirou in his side, but Jirou caught it before it made contact with his hip. Since they were now farther away from where Shino was hiding, he had to move around so that he was able to hear them better. Jirou released her foot and scratched his head. He then sat down and the girl sat next to him. After that, they just sat there, silent.  
  
    "What the hell are they doing?" Shino whispered to himself.  
  
    "I could ask you the same thing." Every single muscle in Shino's body tensed. Exactly how long had he been watching the two fight? He slowly turned around to meet Cloud's orange eyes that almost seemed to be glowing. "It's not my fault," Shino whisper-shouted. "You were taking too long, what the hell was I supposed to do?"  
  
    "Um, I don't know, maybe wait like a good boy?" Cloud exclaimed, a little too loud for Shino's comfort. Cloud winced when she realized what she had done and smacked her forehead with her hand. "Hey, Cloud! Where've you been?" Shino heard Jirou exclaim. Shino looked over his shoulder and saw Jirou and the girl running over to their tree. "Oh crap," Cloud mumbled. She jumped out of the tree and landed on her feet, Shino followed her. "Hey guys, I'm guessing you two have been training..." Said Cloud as soon as Jirou and the girl made it over to the tree. Shino walked up to Cloud and stood next to her. Her voice sounded a little nervous, plus Cloud's face looked like Jirou was flexing in front of her in only his underwear.  
  
   It didn't take a genius to see that there was something going on between Cloud and Jirou. Or maybe Cloud was the only one feeling it because Jirou seriously wasn't showing any signs if he did have something for her. Jirou continued to smile cluelessly at Cloud as she chuckled anxiously. Shino rolled his eyes and stepped in the middle of the two. He then turned to face Cloud and did his best attempt at a subtle smile. "Hey, Cloud. Didn't you say that you were gonna train me?" He said in the happiest voice he could make. "Why don't you show Jirou and this girl how good of a teacher you are by instructing me on how to do shadow clones?" Cloud flinched and looked at Shino like he just threw cake in her face right in front of a large crowd.  
  
   "So, this is what you do on your freetime, Mikasai? Teach a lonely looking boy who is almost taller than you are?" The girl remarked with a malicious smirk on her face. Cloud glared at the girl and stepped forward. Shino frowned and put his arm in front of Cloud before she could say anything. "Why don't we just practice, Cloud? I really want to get this done before the first day." Cloud looked at the girl with a scowl and then at Jirou with a shy smile. "Alright, where should we practice?" She asked Shino.  
  
    Shino pretended to think for a moment before pointing to the middle of the clearing. "Over there," he replied, taking a quick glance at the girl. "Good idea, little man. We could watch you guys practice, right Reisho?" Jirou stated. He looked over to Reisho who only grimaced in response. Cloud winced and muttered a small "Okay", before walking over to the middle of the clearing with Shino in tow. Shino looked behind him to see that Jirou and Reisho had followed them but stood a few feet back. Shino had guessed that it was probably for safety purposes and turned back to focus on Cloud.  
  
    "We should probably start on chakra control," Cloud announced. Shino nodded to tell her that he was paying attention and then stopped himself. "You should probably raise your voice a little, so Reisho could hear you," he suggested.  
  
    Cloud hesitated for a second before smiling. "Yeah, maybe I should. Just to show that I'm a much better kunoichi than that - well, her." Shino smirked, he knew exactly what she meant to say other than "her". If this was gonna work though, Cloud really needed to prove that she was better. And he honestly didn't know how he was going to help his friend with that since he was the one who needed her to teach him. This proved to be harder than Shino had expected it to be. "Alright, you might as well prove that you truly are that good if you want to make her jealous because I can't really help you. You're the one teaching me, remember that," Shino told her. He really didn't want this to fail, just knowing that made him have an idea. If he tried his best, then it would look like Cloud was a good sensei.  
  
    It was really weird that he didn't think of that before, but he just decided to shake it off. "Are you gonna start or not? You scared or something?" Reisho yelled. Shino winced at glared in the direction her voice was coming from. "Don't listen to her, take your time Cloud!" Jirou yelled right after her.  
  
    Reisho was seriously beginning to annoy Shino more than anyone had. "Let's just do this, Cloud," Shino said. "I really can't stand that girl." Cloud nodded and then told him to stretch before they started. Shino did what he was told without questioning her. "Alright, since your problem is making shadow clones, you have to really focus on what you are going to make. Then you have to channel all of your energy - or chakra - into making the shadow clones," Cloud instructed.  
  
    Shino took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He tried his best to channel his chakra and quickly weaved the hand signs. Hopefully he had gained enough energy to make more shadow clones. Shino opened his eyes and saw two partially realistic clones standing in front of him. Except, they weren't really standing straight, one of their legs were shorter than the other and their eyes were just white spaces. To sum it all up, they both looked atrocious.  
  
    Cloud studied the two clones and frowned a little. "You're right, Shino. You need all the help you can get." Shino sighed and nodded. "Yeah, now do you see what I mean? Jeez, the first day is in about two days, too. How the hell am I gonna accomplish this before then?" He asked, a worried expression plastered on his face.  
  
    A loud shriek of laughter ripped through the silence. Both Cloud and Shino quickly turned to see Reisho doubled over in laughter. "You call those shadow clones?" She yelled in between guffaws. "This sad sack needs all the help he could get. You better teach him good, Mikasai! Well, if you're that good of a sensei to him." Shino grit his teeth to keep from cursing at the girl. He also kept from making a remark at her donkey-like laugh.  
  
    "Don't listen to her, Shino. You're doing well, just don't let her get to you," Cloud murmured. Shino huffed and began to focus on his chakra again. This time he didn't bother to close his eyes and instead stared straight at the ground in front of him. Shino quickly weaved the hand signs and looked up to see improved versions of the clones that he had previously made. The legs were much better than last time and they actually had eyes instead of white spaces. The only problems were the clothes, they looked as if they were just brought out from being dried and were just put on at random without ironing them. The color in their clothes was also a little faded and fuzzy.  
  
    Shino groaned out loud and quickly slashed at the clones with a kunai until they disappeared with a quick puff of smoke. "I'm never gonna get this done in time," Shino growled. He balled up his fists and stared at the ground, suddenly feeling embarrassed that he did such a thing in front of Cloud. "Don't worry, Shino. We're gonna get through this, we just need to keep practicing," Cloud reassured Shino. She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. Shino avoided her gaze and just kept staring at the ground. I just hope you're right, he thought to himself as he backed away from Cloud. This could take all day.  
  
  
  
  
  
    Shino's clones had finally started to look way more realistic than the others. With the help of Cloud, his clones looked like they would probably pass the test. Shino finally sat on the hard-packed ground and sighed in relief. He was beginning to regain hope. When he actually thought about what Cloud had said earlier, it really wasn't that hard. All Shino had to do was focus on what the clones would look like and channel his chakra so that he was able to make them. He just wished Cloud had told him that earlier. "Well, that was some improvement, wouldn't you agree?" Cloud said with a huge smile on her face.  
  
    Shino nodded wearily, too tired to give a verbal answer. Cloud chuckled and looked over to where Jirou and Reisho were. "Looks like Reisho fell asleep while we were working," she remarked before gasping. In an instant, her face darkened to the color of a ripe cherry. Shino stared at her before sitting up and seeing Jirou running over them. "Those were some shadow clones, little man! A couple more tweaks to them and they'll be perfect for your first day of...the academy, I'm guessing," he said encouragingly. He then looked up at Cloud with a smile. "And you are one of the best student senseis I've seen so far! You did an awesome job, Cloud." Jirou reached over to push a couple strands of Cloud's dark blue hair out of her eyes.  
  
    Shino chuckled to himself as Cloud squeaked and covered her eyes as soon as Jirou turned away from her to take a look at Reisho. "Oh and please don't listen to Reisho, she says some pretty stupid things sometimes. To be honest, I'd rather go on a date with that guy from the dango shop than her." He stated, crossing his arms. "Or even you, just don't tell her that I said those things." Cloud's face faded to a light pink and she finally found the ability to form words. "Thanks, Jirou. That means a lot coming from such a good shinobi like you."  
  
    Shino ignored the fact that Jirou just said that and got up to stretch. "Yeah well, I gotta go. I'm expected at home at sundown and it's almost that time, so bye." Shino said quickly before walking towards the gates. He really didn't have to be home by sundown, he just wanted Jirou and Cloud to have some time alone. It was good enough as another payment for Cloud's help with teaching him.  
  
    As he walked through town, not a lot of people were around. Shopkeepers were closing down and Shino swore he caught a glimpse of Chikara duking it out with one of her male coworkers. He _really_ didn't want to know what it was about, though. So, instead he began to run the rest of the way to his house. Images of his training flashed through his head. Shino smiled at the memories of him making successful shadow clones, then frowned at the thought of Reisho making fun of both him and Cloud. He couldn't believe that he forgot to ask if Reisho was Jirou's cousin or something.  
  
    Shino was too busy thinking about what had happened that afternoon that he didn't even see another person running in the opposite direction. He slammed right into them and landed right on his back. Shino cursed to himself and stood up slowly, both his chest and his back hurt. "Ugh, watch where you're going. Gosh man, do you need glasses or something? You must be blind," a girl's voice said with disgust. Shino's vision cleared and a pair of tall black sandals came into view. "Seriously, aren't you gonna say sorry or something? Gosh, forget the glasses, you obviously need a hearing aid."  
  
    He slowly looked up, leaving the sandals to see a pair of black tights with a dark blue skirt and a black hoodie. Shino then looked at her face. The girl had dark, chocolatey skin with dark purple eyes that were glaring at him. Her face was twisted into a sneer. The girl was clearly about six inches taller than he was.  
  
    "What's your name?" The girl growled, her gazed hardened as she stared at the raven. "It's common courtesy to say your name first, you should know that, girl," said Shino. She murmured something under her breath and played with her white moon pendant. "Fine, my name is Sei Kira. Now tell me yours, little boy," she replied. Shino smirked and crossed his arms. "My name's-"  
  
    "Kira!" A male's voice cut Shino off right when he was about to introduce himself. A teenaged boy with long hair tied up in a high ponytail ran up to them and smiled sweetly at Shino. "Sorry about her if she said anything, sometimes she just doesn't know what she's saying," he explained. Shino guessed automatically that this guy was Kira's older brother, the resemblance was somewhat uncanny. Shino didn't say anything, but just stared up at the tall guy who looked way too kind to be the girl's sister. It was also weird that they were dressed in dark clothing. But, what was really weird was that one of the boy's eyes was purple and the other was amber. Now, _that_ was strange.  
  
    "Anyway, we have to get home, Kira. Father is waiting for us and you certainly don't want him to worry." He then pushed Kira past Shino and they both walked in the direction that Shino came from. _Man, it'll be a nightmare if I end up with her on my team. Well, if she's not already in a team. That Kira girl could be way older than me or way younger..._ Shino shrugged off the thought and resumed walking. As he went the rest of the way to Shizaku's, he thought of how he was gonna fix his shadow clones before school started.  
  
    It was probably going to go well, if he listened to what Cloud had told him.  
  
  
  
  
  
_"Yes, sir?" He asked, bowing low. "Do you want me to begin now? If we miss it, there won't be another chance." There was a shuffling sound. "No, we won't miss it. Just make sure you keep them in check before the time comes. I'll tell you when they're ready." A loud snap was heard echoing throughout the room. The man flinched, but kept his head low. "So, may I ask who is involved? I'm sorry if it goes past my current position." Deep, rumbling chuckles were heard. "It sort of does actually, I want to keep this a secret until the time comes. We only have a few more years, just let me savor the time that we have left until this starts. You may leave now." Another snap. He got up quickly and scurried out of the large room. "Thank you for your time, sir. I will make sure to get them ready since our time is dwindling."_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Yes, you go do that. And tell the others to come in here. I need a word with them." The door closed by itself and he stood in the corridor. Alone. Utterly alone. He mustn't waste time, a few years wasn't exactly enough to get ready. But, he must try. He sighed and walked down the hall. The others had to be informed of what was to come._  
  
  
  
  
  
  Shino blinked and shook his head. _What was that?_ He thought as he quickly got up from the table. "What's wrong?" Asked Shizaku. "Are you hurt?" Shino shook his head. He had no idea what those voices were, but he really hoped that it was his imagination. "Er, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom. I'll be right back," he said before walking off. __Just great, another thing to worry about.


	3. Kyosuke

    A weak stick snapped, the sound small but the night was quiet enough to have it echo through the forest. Kyosuke winced, he had hoped that nobody was around to hear that. His body ached horribly and he was in no shape to fight. The wind whistled harshly though the trees and brought chills throughout Kyosuke’s body.

    As Kyosuke looked around, he saw that there were no places to sleep. Sighing to himself, he quickly decided to spend the night outside since it was already late and he felt as though he would die if he didn't sit down for a second. Kyosuke hummed to himself as he set up a camp and flopped down on a sleeping bag. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the beautiful face of Peorth coming to mind.

    It's been awhile since he last saw her and Kyosuke sometimes questioned himself as to why he even left his village in the first place. But, then it came to him that he just couldn't keep himself confined in the same place for such a long period of time. He just had to see the other villages and work on getting stronger, not saying that he wasn't already.

  Just the thought of him traveling for so long and what he had done on his journey was enough to knock the boy out.  While he was drifting off, the sound of rustling was faintly heard, but it wasn't enough to get Kyosuke’s attention. He'll just have to face what was coming to him when he woke up.

 

     _“Oh man, she's going to be so proud of us!”_ Something rustled. _“If this guy turns out to be the wrong person, I’m seriously going to blame you for this.”_ The voices were a little muffled, almost as if Kyosuke were listening to them with plugs in his ears. _“Do you know what we should do to him while we wait?”_ A boy snickered. Kyosuke heard a sigh, probably from the other guy.

    _“No, just no. I’m am_ not _helping you fulfill your creepy little manga fantasies. Just because he’s sleeping-”_ A loud bang interrupted him. It was also enough to wake Kyosuke up fully. His eyes popped open and stared up at the two men who were talking. One of them looked as old as Kyosuke while the other looked slightly older. The two men looked over to the other end of the room where the sound came from. “Did you get him?” A woman’s voice asked. The two men nodded and stepped aside.

    The older man scratched his beard and cleared his throat. Kyosuke winced as he heard the woman's footsteps come closer. He tried to move, but it seemed as though his muscles wouldn't cooperate. The lady’s footsteps got so close that the thumping sounds seems as if it was directly under his head. She peered at Kyosuke with her blazing red eyes and growled furiously. “This is _not_ him!” She exclaimed, her pitch black hair began to steam as she turned towards the two.

    “And I _thought_ you said he wouldn't wake up until next week!” The older male’s eyes traveled over to the younger one and stepped back. “This was all Makoto’s fault. He was the one who-”

    “This is both of your faults! You're the older one, Kazuki, you should have been paying attention to him.” She said through clenched teeth. Kyosuke watched the woman yell at Kazuki and Makoto like they were her sons. He tried to talk, but for some strange reason, he wasn't able to do that either. Both men hung their heads in shame. “We’re sorry Ikari, we'll try harder next time,” Makoto said while bowing. Ikari grumbled and grabbed him by his pink hair.

    “Just pick him up and take him to the throne room. She would like to see him,” Ikari demanded while shoving him towards Kyosuke. “And _I'll_ do the talking.” As Makoto picked him up, Kyosuke began to curse himself out in his head. _How could I let myself get caught like this, if the people in my village saw this…_

    He stopped himself before he could go on, scolding himself wouldn't do anything. Since he also couldn't move, the only thing Kyosuke could do was see where the three were taking him. The corridor that they were in was awfully dark, so dark that he was barely able to see a thing. But, somehow the three were able to navigate their way throughout the weird place.

    “Uh, Ikari?” Makoto looked over to the ravenette. “This guy keeps glaring at me, it's getting kind of weird now.” Kyosuke quickly averted his eyes. He didn't even notice that he was looking directly at the guy. Ikari mumbled something under her breath and kept walking, steady slivers of smoke still curling from her scalp. Kyosuke had been to many places with many strange powers, but he had never seen something as strange as this. It was almost as if the woman's hair was going to burst into flames back in that strange bunker-like room.

    Kyosuke blinked and tried to at least move his head, but that along with the rest of his body, was immoveable. _What the hell did these people do to me?_ He thought bitterly as they finally stopped in front of a rather large door. Two torches were both lit on either side and it cast an eerie glow on the both the door and the four of them. Kyosuke saw golden markings on the deep red bark that looked like some kind of ancient scribble. Or it could have been a child attempting to write for the first time…

    He shook off that thought and waited patiently as Kazuki walked up to the door and used one of the shiny gold rings on the door to knock. Even though the rings didn't look that heavy, it made three booming knocks that would have made the ground tremble. “Come in,” an old woman's voice replied through the thick wood.

    Kyosuke winced, for a place that looked so ancient and king-like, he would have expected a man's deep voice to answer instead. But, he made no comment of it, because he literally couldn't, and watched as Ikari pushed both doors open with what looked like absolutely no effort, and strode in confidently. Kazuki and Makoto walked in after her, but not with the same gusto.

    Inside, the room was larger than any throne room he had ever seen. It was also emptier than any throne room he had ever seen. Besides the black swirly marks on the upper walls and ceiling, the only things that were in that room were two mats and a large throne that looked like it was made out of either glass or crystal. Kyosuke wasn't sure what it was made of, but he did note that it was completely transparent.

    “Have you brought him, my dear?” The woman asked, sitting up straight on the throne. The lady could have been older than the whole building and she had obviously seen better days. She could have been over a hundred years old, but her eyes twinkled with a strange timeless youth. Although, the next time someone would mention the saying “skin and bones”, Kyosuke would always automatically think of her.

    Ikari knelt down quickly, as if she was programmed to and glared at the two boys. Kazuki knelt beside her and Makoto rushed to the front and gently placed Kyosuke down about ten feet from the first step to the throne. He then rushed back. “We’re deeply sorry, Aijin Naoko, but we have failed you miserably. This is not the man you have been looking for.”

    As Kyosuke laid there, staring at the ceiling, he couldn't help but notice that the hard ground was getting a lot warmer. In fact the _air_ was getting a lot warmer. Ikari and the others seemed to notice this, because Kyosuke swore he heard a whimper come from one of them. And he honestly didn't think it was Ikari. The woman chuckled and coughed a little, a cough that made Kyosuke wish his hands were working so that he could cover his ears with them. Even though the woman herself wasn't all that terrifying, the cough _definitely_ was.

    “Oh Daichi,” the woman cooed. “Would you just look at the kind of shinobi you claimed as strong, determined…” Kyosuke began to move the tips of his fingers, just a bit. The woman's voice also got a little louder, too. “Dependable, courageous, and _outstanding_ ninjas. Sprinkled with best of the best, too?” She snickered again, but it wasn’t as sweet.

    Kyosuke slowly turned his hand, slow enough for the lady not to see… “Oh, he was wrong, so _very_ wrong! How can I even say the same things about you three when you guys aren't even able to fulfill a _single_ task?! _DAICHI, YOU WORTHLESS-_ ”

     _“Stop!”_ Ikari yelled. Kyosuke slowly moved his neck and saw that Ikari was already halfway off of her knee and her hands were frozen in front of her. A look of horror was plastered on her face. Makoto and Kazuki looked at her with wide eyes, also scared shitless. “Excuse me? I know I'm old, so have my ears mislead me, Kojima-san?” The Aijin asked sternly. _Just how horrifying is this woman?_ Kyosuke thought as Ikari stuttered and fumbled over her words while Makoto’s dark red eyes switched from Ikari to the Aijin.

    The room began to cool down as the woman sighed. “Well, Kojima, if you're so eager to speak, why don't you tell us what was on your mind,” she stated. Kyosuke turned to see the woman sit back and stare at Ikari, quietly taunting her. His feet began to twitch, and Kyosuke quietly moved them around. The three were so caught up in their conversation, they didn't even notice what he was doing. “Well, I wanted to suggest that we could still use him. I mean, he already knows where we are and what we're talking about.” Ikari tried hard not to let her voice go unsteady.

    “He's awake right now, see?” Kyosuke’s heart dropped to his toes as a whoosh of air and a pair of dark-skinned feet landed right in front of his face. His eyes widened to the size of tea cups as he looked up to see the old woman standing over him with a stern look on her face. “Has anyone ever told you that eavesdropping is rude?” The Aijin asked Kyosuke. Even if he wanted to answer, his mouth still wasn't cooperating with him. So, he shrugged instead.

    Aijin Naoko grunted and glanced at the three who were still kneeling, looking at Kyosuke. “Looks like the stuff is wearing off. Even though it was supposed to last longer,” she commented. Another whimper came from the three. “And I believe it was the _other_ Kojima who was in charge of that.” She looked over to Makoto with a devilish glare. He squeaked and slapped his hand over his mouth. “Anyway, as an answer to your suggestion Ikari-chan, maybe we could use him for something. He looks young, yes, young men are especially good.”

    Kyosuke tried his hardest not to grimace and finally found the strength to open his mouth. “Old lady, exactly _what_ are you planning to use me for?” He asked carefully, his jaw still felt as if it was being forcefully pulled closed. Aijin Naoko looked down at him and smiled, she surprisingly had all of her teeth. For some reason, that sort of freaked Kyosuke out, maybe because she was so old.

    “Ikari, Makoto, Kazuki!” She yelled towards the three. They immediately stood up and bowed their heads. “Yes, Aijin?” Ikari asked nervously. “Take him to the examination room. I find him useful, so you three will not be punished this time. Leave me.” Ikari-chan nodded and motioned for Kazuki and Makoto to stand up. The two men walked up to Kyosuke and picked him up by his arms. He struggled to get out of their grip, but they just held him tighter. He wanted to use his power, he really did but nothing worked. He tried to summon clones with chairs, he tried to use his family’s power, heck he even tried to use the jutsus that he learned from the other villages. But, whatever “stuff” Makoto put in him really fucked him up, badly.

    All he could do then was watch as he was carried out of the throne room and back into the corridor. “And where are you taking me exactly?” Kyosuke asked, he was glad that he was finally able to talk. “Don't worry, hot-stuff. We just want to take you to a locked room and examine your body _real_ closely-”

    “Makoto, if I hear another dirty thing come out of that mouth of yours, I’ll drop-kick you into the next millennium!” Ikari exclaimed furiously. Makoto huffed and swung Kyosuke’s arm around his neck while moving his own arm around Kyosuke’s waist in an attempt to lift him higher. Kyosuke grumbled to himself. _How, just how, did he get himself into this?_ He began to wonder if he was even going to see the light of day again, or if he was even going to fulfill his dream.

    “Guys, can you go one day without fighting for once?” Kazuki asked wearily. The two rolled their eyes and looked away from each other. After everything that happened today, Kyosuke just noticed that Kazuki had barely spoken once during the whole meeting with Aijin Naoko.

    “I'll take that as a ‘no’,” he said sadly to himself. Makoto chuckled and gripped Kyosuke tighter. “Who are you anyway? Why were you sleeping outside in the middle of nowhere?” Makoto asked Kyosuke.

    “Well, why are _you_ examining me? Am I your new slave or something?” Kyosuke retorted. The four of them turned a corner that led to a dead end with only one door. “Fine, you don't need to answer my questions,” Makoto replied with a stubborn tone.

    Ikari walked up to the shiny metal door and lifted her hand. It began to glow with red chakra swirling around it. It was certainly nothing Kyosuke hadn't seen before, but that didn't stamp on his curiosity. He watched as Ikari pressed it against the door. Thick gusts of steam came from the door along with a loud hissing sound. So, maybe Kyosuke hadn't seen _that_ before. The door immediately swung open and they all walked in.

    The room was brightly lit with surgical tools lying on tables in the far corners of the room and a hospital bed resting right in the middle. Makoto and Kazuki laid Kyosuke in the bed and immediately strapped him in before he had the chance to move. “Don't mind the equipment, they're just leftovers from the last person we operated on,” Kazuki said calmly. Kyosuke tried moving his arms, but they were strapped tightly to the bed.

    “Oh, and don't try to escape at night or the Beamers will get you. But, that won't happen anyway,” Ikari explained with a smirk. Kyosuke was just about to ask what she meant by that when he felt a sharp sting in his arm. He immediately looked down and noticed that Makoto had injected him with some kind of thick purple substance. After that, he felt as if his whole body went numb again and the room had turned upside down.

    “This is something I had been working on. I didn't try it out on anything, but you'll probably be fine,” Makoto said. His voice was a little hard to hear, it began to faintly sounds like dogs barking. “I'll be back to check on you later tonight. Don't go anywhere, babe!” Kyosuke tried to yell at Makoto for calling him that, but he suddenly felt too tired to do anything. Nothing made sense to him anymore.

  
    The floor bubbled and the walls oozed rainbow sludge, even the thick metal door cackled with delight. Kyosuke heard whispers in his ears and a little ragdoll danced on one of the operation tables while shrieking and pulling out tufts of her black and green hair. All of this seemed hilarious to Kyosuke as he tilted his head back and laughed louder than he ever had before.


	4. Hina

     _Damn Shino, you have no idea._ Hina could feel her heart pounding in her chest, the memory of Shino still lingering in her mind. Maybe that was why he never thought of her as more than a friend. Or maybe he didn't think of her as a friend at all… Hina grimaced at the thought.  _How dare he?! And I thought I was making it obvious._ She got up from the bed and walked over to her desk. Shino surely had to be an idiot if he didn't even notice Hina’s feelings for him.

    Sometimes, she didn't even know why she liked him in the first place. Well, other than his appearance, Shino was an arrogant jerk. So, he was basically what someone would call a “Sasuke”. It was even ironic that he was also in the Uchiha clan. But, she didn't care about how he acted. None of the other girls did, in fact. They mainly focused on his looks. Like his mysterious onyx eyes with his pale skin and messy black hair that made him look like a troublemaker.

    Hina never thought we would fall victim to his handsome trap. Hina shook her head furiously, she was  _not_ going to be distracted when the academy started the next day. She rummaged through her drawer and grabbed a red shiny hair clip. If Shino was working so hard to make sure that he didn't mess up on the first day, she decided to do the same.

    Hina swiftly stuck the red clip to her bang, ran out of her room and went straight outside. The sun shone brightly, warming her throughout her body as she ran down the dirt path towards town. Since Shino got help from one of his friends, she decided to get some of her own.

    The house wasn't that far, it was only about five minutes of passing stores and bumping into countless people. When she finally made it to the dark red building, she made no effort to knock politely as she pounded on the door with her fist. “Hey, I know you're in there! You gotta help me with something!” She yelled as she pounded. She finally stopped when a boy with long, snowy white hair and dark reddish skin opened the door. He crossed his arms and stared at her quizzically.

    “Hey, buddy! Can you help me train for the academy? I need to make sure that my fighting is in tact for the first day.” She smiled cheerily, trying to win him over. The boy sighed, rolling his eyes with an obvious look of annoyance on his face. It didn't bother Hina at all that she was annoying him, she was really desperate to make sure that she was better than Shino this year. Then maybe he might actually notice how strong she was for once.

    “So, are you gonna help me train or what?”

    “Fine.”

    “Really?” Hina exclaimed happily as the boy stepped out and closed the door behind him.  “Thanks, uh-”

    “Shaka.” He finished for her. Hina smiled awkwardly, turning away from Shaka as she did it. “Shaka, right.” He nodded curtly and walked past her. “So, where should we go?” Hina asked him as they walked into town. “I don't know, you're the one dragging me around,” He stated nonchalantly. “Plus, I barely even know you. We just met yesterday - sort of.” Hina looked at him from the corner of her eye and noticed that Shaka’s icy blue eyes were discreetly staring at her. Analyzing her.

    

    Hina finally settled on a small secluded clearing that was far from town. She had been there a couple times to train, and sometimes clear her head. There wasn’t much there, just a coupe large trees scattered around with a small clearing in the middle. She took a deep breath, turning to Shaka. He crossed his arms once again and waited for her to say something. “Okay, well I - uh, I need you to fight me. And give it all you got too,” she explained.

    “Yeah, sure,” Shaka replied, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, you do know that you won't even be doing any fighting tomorrow, right? The real stuff happens when you get a Jounin and a team to fight with.” Hina tilted her head back and laughed, “Of course I know that! I just want to be train now so that I can be better than everyone on my team. Well, _whoever_ they are. But, forget it, when I count to three, we'll start.”

    Shaka nodded, a slow smile forming on his face. If Hina was a wimp, that smile would have surely creeped her out. However, she wasn't a wimp and that smile didn't put one dent in her armor. “One, two, thr-” Shaka disappeared. Hina gasped and took a step back, she never even saw him  _move._ “Hey, that's cheating! You were supposed to wait for three!” She exclaimed, jumping into a nearby tree.

    That boy was pretty fast, so she had to make sure that she was aware of her surroundings. It was a good thing Hina came prepared, or else there would have a been  _a lot_ of chakra being used in this fight. A sharp whistling sound was heard as three kunai knives plunged into the bark of the large branch that Hina was standing on. Shaka then jumped out of wherever he was hiding. He swiftly ran over to Hina and tried to slash her arm with, well, whatever that curved thing was in his hand.

    She then bent back, with the blade barely missing her nose, and spun around to kick Shaka in the back of his head with her right foot. He stumbled a few feet and almost fell right off the branch. Hina smiled cockily, “Wow, you're pretty unstable.”

    Shaka grumbled something under his breath while he slowly got back up. He then smiled as he glanced at Hina once more. “Good kick, but it you were still distracted,” he said. Hina looked at him as if he had grown another head. “What the hell-”

    Someone grabbed Hina’s left arm and flipped her over where she fell off of the branch and hit the ground hard. All of the wind had been knocked out of her from that sudden impact. For a second, everything turned white and Hina heard a soft beeping sound that would have typically come from some kind of hospital. She gasped for air and choked on completely nothing.

     _What the heck was that?_ She thought as she laid there, completely motionless. Four Shakas jumped down from two different trees and looked down at Hina worriedly. “Sorry, you must have hit your head pretty hard,” he said nonchalantly. The clone that had previously been there had disappeared. Hina quickly got up, but then regretted it when he head began to hurt even more. “No, it's fine. I'll be okay by the time school starts anyway. Nothing to worry about,” she assured him shakily as she tripped over her own feet while trying to walk.

    “Yeah, well I don't think we should continue. You seriously look out of it.” If Hina was able to shake her head, she really would have. But, she decided not to since it even hurt to talk. “Gosh, this fight didn't even take that long!” She exclaimed as they made their way out of the field. “Should I even be holding you up right now?” Shaka asked her, slowly removing his hand from her shoulder. “Oh please, I never said that you had to. That was a choice  _you_ made on your own.” Shaka nodded and quickly looked away.  _Man, this boy is weird. Good fighter, but weird._

 

    Hina walked him all the way to his house and waved as he left. She then stretched and began to walk towards the Hokage’s building. While she was walking Shaka back home, she had always thought that she had forgot something. And now she finally remembered. There was this guy that came to the Hidden Leaf once in a while and he'd always go up to the Hokage to talk to him. One time, Hina went up to his office and heard the guy rambling on about traveling and something about Heaven.

    The rest of the conversation got boring after a while, so she had decided to wait outside for the guy to come out. When he did, she had asked him about his conversation. She still remembered when he laughed it off and said that he'd explain the whole thing to her the next time he came back. Hina still never saw him after that. So, she decided to go to the Hokage and ask about the guy.

    She sort of forgot his name though, it sounded sort of like Kaikai when he told her. That couldn't have been true, though. As she walked past a certain tea shop, she heard a voice that made her heart skip a beat. “Damn it, damn it, damn it!” The voice exclaimed in outrage. She quickly looked behind her to see Shino crouching in front of a house with his hands on his head. His fingers dug into his hair in frustration. As he did this, a girl with dark blue hair stood in front of him with her hand son her hips. Her face was a mixture of confusion and pity.

    Hina decided to stop and eavesdrop for a while. “Regular clones!  _Regular_ clones!” He muttered loudly. “An academy student was supposed to make regular clones not _shadow_ clones.” He groaned miserably. For some strange reason, Hina began to smile. It wasn’t even a normal one either, but the kind of smile a person would get if they saw something that went horribly right for them. She quickly brushed off her clothes and walked over to the two. The smile was still showing as she cleared her through loudly.

    Shino looked up, his face of sorrow quickly turned into an emotionless one as he stood up as fast as he changed expressions. “So Uchiha, I heard you messed up your training big time. And before the big day too…” She shook her head mockingly as Shino glared at her. “Why can't you just stay out of my business?” He asked. “Or is your life just that boring.” The blue haired girl that was standing next to Shino looked at the two, shrugged and began to walk away.

    She looked at the girl in disgust as she went. “Who is she anyway?” Hina finally asked when the girl was out of earshot. Shino frowned and raised an eyebrow. “A friend,” he replied. “That’s all you need to know.” Whacking a beehive with an angry cat served to be much easier than getting information out of that boy. And Hina definitely knew that as a fact. So, she just rolled her eyes and continued walking, she didn't even say a word to him before she left.

    Hina had better things to do with the Hokage, and she wasn't going to let Shino distract her this time. Even if he was extremely hot. She finally made it to the building and hurried inside. It was the afternoon, so the Hokage was bound to be in his office. Either doing paperwork or fooling around like he usually did. Sometimes she still couldn't figure out how a goofball like him actually got to be Hokage. Even if he saved the village, there were tons of people in Konoha who were a whole lot more responsible than that guy.

    Hina absentmindedly bumped into someone as she was beginning to get lost in thought. “Oh sorry, man. Didn't see you there,” she apologized halfheartedly. The man straightened up and pushed some of his long black hair out of his face. His cold eyes stared down at her as Hina looked back up at him with a cool and collected gaze. At last he looked away and moved past her. “It’s fine, just watch where you're going next time.” He then walked away, leaving Hina to take one last weird look at him before continuing her journey to the Hokage’s office.

    When she arrived, the door was open a crack and Hina could hear the Hokage talking with someone. “It's alright dear,” she heard him say. “You did well, everyone on your team thinks so, too.” A girl sniffed from somewhere in the room. “Are you sure? It didn't seem like that much of a victory to me.” The Hokage chuckled. “Don’t worry, Hima-chan. The village thanks you for your bravery. Now, go on. It looks like I have a guest, you may come in.”

    Hina jumped while biting her lip as she slowly pushed the door open. A teenaged girl with thick, dark blue hair quickly walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. That left Hina all alone in the oval office with the Hokage. “Well, is there something you want to tell me?” He asked. Hina took a deep breath and began to speak.

    “Hokage-san-”

    “Naruto-san, if you will. I miss people calling me by my real name.”

    “Right, N-Naruto-san. Have you seen a young guy come here to talk to you lately?” The Hokage thought for a moment, then rubbed his temples. “You might wanna be a little more specific. I see tons of young guys come in here, some taking missions, some giving reports and then there's just some that randomly want to talk to me. Not that I don't like company once in a while.

    “Well, this guy had spiky brown hair with a long black coat and a weird yellow thing around his waist. You know, that guy that comes here once in a while and makes you feel hot just by looking at what he’s wearing.” The pounding in Hina’s head settled, leaving her with a mild headache. The Hokage snapped his fingers as if he just thought of something. “Kyosuke Nakamura, right? Yes, I know who you're talking about,” he said calmly after that.

    Hina waited for him to say more, but the Hokage just propped his head on his hands and smiled to himself.  _This job seriously messed this guy up,_ Hina thought.  _Big time._ “So, is that all you wanted to ask me?” He asked as he pulled out a bunch of papers from his desk drawer and took out his laptop. “No, no! What I wanted to ask you was...er, don't you think its weird that he hasn't come back in a while? Doesn't he always visit during this time?”

    The Hokage considered this for a moment before frowning. “Yes, this is pretty peculiar. Don't worry, though. I'll make sure to notify the anbu about this. I'll probably have Shinpi take the lead, she's pretty good.” The hokage quickly began to type something up on his computer, signalling the end of the conversation. Hina quickly bowed, said her thanks, and left the office quickly. Whoever this “Kyosuke Nakamura” was, she seriously hoped that he would live long enough to tell her about his conversation.

    But, putting that aside, she seriously needed to lay down. The headache was already beginning to annoy the hell out of her. In the mean time, she would also have to figure out what that white flash was earlier.


	5. Kira

    The sun came up slowly while the birds piped up to let everyone know that a new day had begun. Morning had come awfully quick, too quick for Kira’s liking, anyway. If she kept waking up so early, she was seriously going to die. Literally, sleep was important. If only she kept that statement in her head whenever she woke up at five.

  Kira's hands hovered over her keyboard, it was about to be half past seven. Usually her father would wake her up at that time and she would at least hear somebody get up. She looked up at the screen of her laptop and read what she had so far. She found it weird that she had homework for her father even though she gets enough from the previous Jounins from the Academy. They said that they would be making a few changes to the school so everyone was let out early. Kira looked at the clock again. It was seven-thirty on the dot. What the hell was he doing? Her father was supposed to wake her up right now. Well, unless...?  
  
   A door slammed at the end of the hall, and heavy footsteps were heard coming near her bedroom. Kira sighed and began putting her things away. He sent  _him_ again. Her bedroom door was shoved open and Kira turned to see Shizuke standing in the doorway. "You're late," Kira muttered as she put her laptop in her desk drawer. "As always," she then added with a sigh. "Then you shouldn't be surprised, dear sister," Shizuke smirked. He crossed the room and stood in front of Kira. Shizuke was an exact foot taller than her, which for some reason made Kira annoyed.   
  
  "You know you're doing the test today, right?" He asked nonchalantly. "Yes," Kira added in the same tone. "Dad says you better have the best score."  
  
   "He says that every time I have a test." Shizuke smiled and ruffled her hair. "Well then, you better make him proud...again." Kira groaned. She hated it whenever her dad said that. "Alright," Shizuke stretched and began walking towards the door. "You better get ready for school, have a good day, Slinky." He then walked out and closed the door behind him. Kira rolled her eyes, sat down again, and turned back around in her chair. Another day of being the best.

   All she had to do then was wait a couple minutes for her parents to believe that she was actually getting ready. Little did they know that she would  _always_ get ready the second she got out of bed.

    Kira opened up her desk drawer once again to grab her necklace. After she had it securely around her neck, Kira got up and walked out of her bedroom. It seemed as though everyone had got up early today. And her parents were in the kitchen arguing, again. Kira listened to them shouting for a moment before going downstairs. Her kitchen wasn't that grand or extravagantly large, and that's what she liked about it.

    Once she walked in, her parents quieted down and looked away from each other. “Morning, dear. Could you take this up to Shizuka for me?” Kira’s father asked sweetly. He placed bowl of soup in her. The bowl was covered with plastic, so she couldn't see what kind it was. “Poor thing, she was coughing all night. The doctor says that she might not get well at this point.” Her father said the her mom. Kira nodded and walked back upstairs, her sister’s room was all the way down on the left side of the hallway.

    The only the only people who went there often were her parents and older brother. Ever since Shizuka got sick, Kira never spoke to her as much as she used to. She had no idea why she started doing that, either.

    “Shizuka? You awake?” Kira asked as she pushed the door open slowly. Shizuka’s bedroom was one of the largest in the house, but it was mostly empty except for a large television sitting in front of her bed. Shizuka sat up and smiled as Kira walked over with the bowl. She pressed her hand on the glass that was separating her from her sister. She then opened a small compartment and put the bowl through it. Shkzuka smiled, opened the compartment on her side, and gave Kira a thumbs up.

    “So, you're feeling okay?” Kira asked her sullenly. “Dad said you were coughing.” Shizuka nodded and gave another thumbs up. Kira sighed, she missed hearing her sister’s voice. Why did she, of all people, have to get sick like this? “Well, I'm on my way to school, I have a big test ahead of me.” She said before backing away towards the door. Shizuka smiled and waved enthusiastically. How could she still be so happy when her life is wasting away? Kira waved back before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

    She couldn't feel more sorry for her sister. This sickness was serious and it signalled the end of her ninja duties. Kira’s eyes began to sting as she went back downstairs and said goodbye to her parents. “She’s doing fine,” she said as she hugged her dad. “Wish me luck on the test.”

    Her father nodded, handing her a white string. “You don't need luck, we know you've got it in the bag,” her mother said confidently. Kira smirked and tied her hair up with the string. “Thanks guys, I don't need breakfast. I’m not that hungry,” Kira stated as she turned and walked out of the kitchen.  _The first day, huh? I have a strange feeling today will be hell, like all of the others._

    Once Kira walked out the door, the first thing she saw were parents bidding their children farewell as they headed to school. They were much younger than her, though. Kira chuckled to herself,  _newcomers._

She then turned to see some of her family members walking around. “Can't get distracted,” Kira whispered to herself. “If I flunk this simple test, it's all over for me.” Besides, the only worry she had at the moment was getting into a crappy team. But, that might not happen, if she believed hard enough. Kira made her way out of the front gate and began to run as fast as she could. She dodged a couple kids who were walking slowly, not knowing that they'd be late if they didn't hurry their slow asses up.

    The school came into view and Kira saw the kind of changes they made. The building was a little bigger than last time and so was the yard. It also looked as if they had an extra building added. There were children already going inside, she even remembered seeing some from last year. But, Kira never cared enough to actually remember their names. There was a young Jounin with dark green hair at the door when Kira walked up. “Morning, ready for the test?” She didn't say anything to him, just nodded and walked in.

     _Okay, that was sort of rude._ She thought as she turned a corner and began walking up a long black staircase. Her classroom was on the second floor and it was also the first door on the right side of a long hallway. The inside of the building didn't look  _that_ different, either. The walls on the second floor were just repainted making it look sort of new and clean, some change…

    Kira opened the door to her classroom and noticed first hand that the room looked  _a lot_ larger than it did last year. There also seemed to be a new teacher because standing in the front of the room was a teen with thick blonde hair that stuck out oddly at different angles. He just stood there with a bright smile as he stared at all of the children who were talking at sitting at random seats.

    If  _this_ was the person who was going to do the tests, the people who were in charge could've done a lot better. As she sat down she noticed a couple people she had talked to last year, those were the people she had actually remembered. “Alright, this looks like everyone,” the guy announced as he straightened up. “My name's Boruto Uzumaki,  _the_ son of the Hokage. I'll be doing your tests today with one of my teammates. And yes, I know I'm not your teacher, but she had some business to take care of with my father.

    “Now, after this little speech, I will be calling you guys from this paper here and you will walk through this door to my left.” Boruto pointed to the dark mahogany door on the far left. “You will then be asked to make about ten clones and have a full fight with them.” A couple kids looked up and murmured nervously in replied. Boruto smile widened at the sight of them. “Don't worry guys, I was just kidding. Anyway, let's do this. Oh, and by the way, these names are not put in alphabetical order, so I'll be calling you at random. Good luck, kiddos.”

    He then walked through the door on the left and everyone was back to chatting. Kira put her head down and just listened to all of them talk about the teams. Some of them seemed nervous while others acted as though they were confident. Kira knew that they were only showing their asses, though. She only knew a few kids in that room who really weren't nervous at all. The door opened again and Boruto peeped through.

    “Kinjuri Shaka, you're up buddy.” Immediately, a boy with long, white hair followed him inside.  _Shaka, I think I remember that guy from last year. Didn't talk much, weird kid._  “Oh man, how do you think I'll do? I  _really_ don't wanna fail, man. My mom will be so mad,” a boy said from behind Kira. “It’s alright, I'm sure you'll do fine. Just believe in yourself for once,” a girl's voice replied.

    A minute passed and Shaka walked out with a black protector in his hand. “Ryuukoi, you're up,” he stated before sitting down in the same spot. A girl with dark skin and pitch black hair walked through. Her time was a little shorter than Shaka’s and she also looked confident as she held a light blue forehead protector. Sora Susume was next, then Amai Kyomi and after him was Taken Ohshi.

    During that time, not one person came to talk to Kira. They probably didn't even look her way for a second. That didn't seem to bother her, though. That meant she had plenty of time to think about things. Things like her sister’s well-being, what her parents had been arguing about for the past few days, and why Shizuke would always sneak out of the house at night. All of that stuff almost made Kira fall asleep, too. But as soon as she felt herself drifting off, she also felt someone shake her arm a couple of times.

    Kira looked up to meet Sora’s bright yellow eyes. “You’re next,” she said, smiling kindly before going back to her seat. Kira got up slowly and walked over to the door.  _This is it, don't mess things up for yourself. You can do this._ She thought as she pushed the door open and walked through. Behind the door was a long pathway with a glass dome-like structure around it. Kira walked straight ahead, making sure that she didn't look down as she did so.

    The door on the other side was already open a crack when Kira made it to the other side. So, she pushed it open and walked into the large room. I side were large windows with forehead protectors tacked up on the wall. Each of the symbols were different and Kira only recognized a few of them. Sitting at the table in the middle of the room was Boruto and a boy with the looks of a snake. He even had the weirdest eyes to top it all. “Hello, Kira. Usually we’d tell you that you can do any E-rank jutsu, but this year they’ve settled on everyone doing clones, just to make it easier. Oh, and this is Mitsuki, by the way.” He pointed to the guy sitting next to him.

    He smiled warmly, which took Kira by surprise since he didn't look like the kind of person who would do something like that. “You can start whenever you're ready,” Mitsuki added, which also surprised Kira. His voice sounded kinder, too. Kira shook off the thought and took a deep breath, focusing on her chakra. She then closed her eyes and began to weave the hand signs,  _ram, snake, tiger…_ Kira opened her eyes and looked behind her, four identical clones stood there with their hands forming the “tiger” sign.

    “Good, pretty solid looking clones. You passed, here’s your forehead protector.” Mitsuki reached into a bag that sat next to his chair and pulled out a dark red one. He handed it to Kira and gave an encouraging smile. “You did well,” he told her as Boruto scribbled on a clipboard. “Thanks, so who should I call in?” Kira asked as she tied the protector around her neck. The clones also disappeared with four puffs of smoke.

    “Um, Satoru Akiyama and can you take this to the Hokage, please? I have a feeling we'll be here for a while. I'll give you a pass.” Mitsuki handed Kira a large envelope that read “Progress Report”. He then scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed that to her too.

    “Okay, I'll get this to him immediately. Thank you.” Kira walked out the door and made her way over the pathway that strangely hung over a large pond. “Once she made it to the classroom, she noticed that a lot of kids were already wearing their protectors and talking about them.

    Some decided to wear them on their foreheads and other decided to wear them on either their arms, legs, necks, or as a belt. One kid jokingly put hers on as an eye patch and another wore his over both eyes. Which was actually pretty stupid because Kira knew that he wasn't talented enough to fight without seeing his opponent. Heck, he wasn't even talented enough to  _fight_ an opponent, much less with his eyes closed. “Satoru, you're next.” A tall girl with half of her head shaved stood up and walked through the door.

    Kira shook her head at the sight of her once she left the classroom. Some of those kids seriously didn't think about what they were doing, when they made choices like that. Kira jogged down the steps and through the back door. The Hokage’s office wasn't that far from the Academy, so it would be fine to get there through the back yard. When she got there, a few Jounins were leaving with confused expressions. Some of them holding scrolls with either important information or a new mission assigned by the Hokage.

    But, she still made sure to say good morning to them, nonetheless. She only went to see the Hokage once last year, and it was for the same reason why she was going now. Except her teacher wanted to bring some book to him and Kira was the first one she saw to do it. Kira also never understood why the Hokage never moved into the residence ever since he was elected.

    Kira asked around in an attempt to find his office, and she finally did, ten minutes had already passed. As Kira walked to the door, she heard a woman yelling from the inside. “Do you know how long it's been since I last saw him? And yet you're saying that you don't know where he is?” The woman yelled. Kira really hated eavesdropping but she just couldn't stop listening. What they were talking about sounded really serious, too.

    “I'm terribly sorry, miss. We already sent out anbu to go out and search. So, they won't come back for a while.” The Hokage sounded as if he was about to pass out. Kira couldn't blame him either, that woman must have been pissed. She knocked on the door, making sure that it was loud enough for the Hokage to notice. The room went silent and she heard someone clear their throat.

    “Come in,” the Hokage said calmly. Kira pushed open the door and stepped inside. There was a woman standing in front of the Hokage’s desk. She had a hood on her head, so Kira wasn't able to see what she looked like. The woman mumbled something before turning to leave. “You better find him, Naruto!” She exclaimed as she walked out, slamming the door behind her. “I will, Peorth. I will,” the Hokage said grimly. Kira was so caught up in what was happening that she never noticed the Jounin who were standing near both walls.

    Still, Kira walked up and placed the envelope on the desk. “Your son’s progress report,” she said confidently. “He would have taken it to you himself, but-”

    “He was assigned to watch your classes and do the tests with them? Yeah, I know. I assigned him.” Naruto picked up the envelope and opened it. After looking over the papers, he smiled and put it in his desk. “I see they did well, and congratulations on passing the test.” Naruto nodded towards the protector Kira was wearing around her neck. “That reminds me of how my wife used to wear hers, I think she still does, too. It goes good with that hoodie you're wearing.” Kira smiled, only a little bit, and backed towards the door. “Thank you, Naruto-san,” she said before leaving.

    She stood there a second longer, then left once she heard the sound of the Hokage speaking with the Jounin who were in the room.  _Why was that woman so angry? Who are the anbu looking for?_ Those questions swirled in Kira’s mind as she made it back to the Academy. Boruto had brought all of the children in the yard and they seemed to be doing some kind of competition.

    “Oh, hey Kira. You came just in time. You can go up next if you want to,” he said, motioning towards Satoru who was standing in the middle of the circle that the kids made. She smiled triumphantly as the kid she beat down was dragged out of the ring. Kira nodded and walked into the middle. “Alright kids, it’s Kira versus Ryuukoi.” The same girl that she saw from that morning walked up.

     She smiled at Kira maliciously as she waited for Boruto to start. “Alright ladies, no chakra use of any kind on this one, just strength. No hard feelings if you lose, though,” he announced. Ryuukoi nodded towards Boruto and so did Kira. Mitsuki stood off in the sidelines and just shook his head. Kira then shook hands with Ryuukoi and went back to her original position. If there was one thing Kira was really bad at, it was Taijutsu. But, she decided to give it a go.

     Boruto smiled, looking at the two. “Ready... _BEGIN!”_


	6. Kyosuke

     _"How's his heart rate?"_ A couple fast clicking sounds. _"Neutral. His chakra levels?"_ A man cleared his throat. The room suddenly felt cold as Kyosuke began to stir. _"Er, that's strange."_ What were they doing? A loud clatter was heard, and a man cursed. _"What the hell is wrong with you, Makoto?"_  
  
    _"I'm sorry, it's just-the patient is waking up."_ Kyosuke cracked his eyes open, the room was blindingly white and two figures stood before him. As his eyes got used to the brightness, the room sharpened. A man with bright green hair stood before him in a white lab coat with a teenage boy with pink hair next to him. The man straightened his glasses and stared down at him curiously.  
  
    "How are you feeling? Anything strange?" He asked, running his hand over Kyosuke's forehead and through his hair. "Get the hell off of me," Kyosuke muttered. "You fucking bastards, trying to make me your slave, huh?" Both men looked at Kyosuke as if he grew five heads. "What are you talking about? We're not trying to hurt you at all, one of our shinobis found you passed out last night."  
  
    Kyosuke quickly sat up and his abdomen stung with pain. "Oh, and we also stitched you up a little, you were pretty banged up," Makoto added while scratching his head. His hair was a _lot_ longer than Kyosuke had remembered.  
  
    "Just get me out of here, I feel much better anyway. Please, just let me go."He hopped out of bed yelped once his feet touched the floor. "Oh, we also took your clothes. They were torn up anyway, so they're in the garbage now," the man said nonchalantly.  
  
    Makoto quickly ran into out the door and came back just as fast with a bundle of clothes in his arms. He then set them on the bed and back away. Kyosuke stared at the piled of folded clothing for a quick second before picking them up. "Thanks," he said before slipping the thin, black shirt over his head. He then put on the baggy pants and fixed his somewhat messy hair. He even knew that it wasn't going to get any better.  
  
    "Good, since you want to leave so badly, Makoto will show you where your belongings are. We also salvaged as much of it as we could, but I'm sure nothing important was lost."  
  
    _Man, this guy is all kinds of weird. The sooner I haul my ass out of here, the better. This place doesn't even look like a hospital room._ And it really didn't, if he compared that room with an actual hospital room, the one he was in seemed a lot "homier". The only thing that set the room apart from an actual bedroom was all of the medical junk that was set up there.  
  
    Kyosuke shook his head furiously, he wasn't going to get sidetracked. Even though the two didn't look like much of a threat, he still had to be on the look-out. A real ninja never lets his guard down for even a second. He trailed behind Makoto as they made their way out of the room. Of course, the man stayed behind and typed furiously at his computer. Kyosuke silently followed Makoto as the teenager hummed to himself and smiled.  
  
    Kyosuke quickly noticed that this Makoto seemed a bit more wholesome, a complete opposite from the short-haired, perverted Makoto in which Kyosuke still had questions about. "So, how old are you Kyosuke Nakamura?" Makoto asked as he innocently played his long, weirdly braided hair. Why the hell did this Makoto have so much hair?  
  
    "Why do you need to know?" Kyosuke asked. "Even though you told me that you mean no harm, you still are a stranger to me." Makoto giggled (something that the other would have _never_ done) and smiled directly at him. Kyosuke stared at him, somewhat entranced by how truthful this Makoto looked. It also made him forget the fact that this Makoto knew his full name, even though he was unconscious the whole time.   
  
    "Will it make you feel better if I told you mine? I'm an open book, you know." This statement seemed sort of weird coming from the person who drugged him, at least Kyosuke thought he did.  
  
    But, he decided to rush it off and focus on what was happening. "Fine and while you're at it, tell me who you are and what this place is," he replied quickly. Makoto blushed, his face turning pinker than his hair. "Alright then, I'm actually fifteen and this place is a hospital. That's about it."  
  
    The brunette looked at the blushing boy with skepticism. No, that couldn't be "just it". The way he answered that question so easily, as if he knew that Kyosuke would ask a question like that. In fact, him being fifteen did seem kind of true due to he fact that this Makoto looked a lot younger. But, he kept his cool and blew a long strand of hair from his face.  
  
    Hey, a deal was deal anyway, so he had to fess up. "Well, I'm nineteen, if that's all you wanted to know." He looked at Makoto, noticing that his smile was strangely like the other one's. "So, nineteen, huh? You're basically an adult then." Makoto sighed whimsically, "But, that doesn't really matter to me. You get what you get."  
  
    Again, Kyosuke was just going to keep his cool and not let anything bother him, even though this Makoto was started to sound like himself. Well, if _that_ Makoto even was "himself".  
  
    Makoto suddenly stopped and Kyosuke found himself standing in front of a door. A very normal looking door, with a doorknob that opens it. He looked back at the pink haired boy who only smiled warmly and nodded for him to ope the door. Kyosuke then opened it to find his belongings sitting on a bed in a completely empty room.  
  
    "You an heck to see if all of your things are here, I'll be back to check on you." Before Kyosuke could even thank the boy, the door slammed shut and the light turned off. Kyosuke was calm until the sound of breathing got his attention. He checked and double-checked just to make sure that the breathing wasn't his.  
  
    The lights turned on and Kyosuke jumped back to find Makoto sitting in the corner of the room. A girl with pitch black hair was lying face-down in front of him with blood slowly spreading from under her. Makoto stared up at Kyosuke with a petrified expression and opened his mouth to say something when an ear splitting shriek erupted in the room.  
  
    Behind him, there was a little boy, that looked a little like Makoto, standing there screaming with tears screaming down his face. Kyosuke was still shocked about what had happened and stood there staring at the kid with amazing lung capacity and Makoto rocking back and forth in the corner.  
  
    The boy then stopped and walked past Kyosuke. He stood directly in front of Makoto and pointed a finger at him. What happened next was the part that really horrified Kyosuke.  
  
    The boy, with his finger still pointing at Makoto, turned to Kyosuke and asked, "Did you kill her?" That part didn't really scare Kyosuke that much but the fact that he asked in a voice that was way too deep for a child to have, or even a grown man to have.  
  
    _No, not this again. This has to be some sort of genjutsu._ The little boy kept looking at him until he coughed up lack sludge and then melted into the same substance himself. Makoto then disappeared and the black sludge began to move on its own. It grew, taking the form of a rather tall male-figure. The sludge then changed color and Kyosuke could see that it was, in fact, a tall man with no pupils and long, silky black hair draping over his shoulders.  
  
    He smiled, tilting his head to the right. "You are absolutely correct. It looks like you had somehow stumbled into my part of the forest. Such a stupid girl."  
  
    Kyosuke growled and ran towards the man. He didn't know who he was, or how he was able to pull off a technique that would have taken up so much chakra, but he knew that the guy was no good. He tried punching him, but the man's image flickered and his fist went straight through his face. However, his fist was covered in the warm sludge that the guy had been created from.  
  
    He gagged and tried flicking the stuff off, but it only grew and moved up his arm. A lukewarm feeling spread over his arm as if Kyosuke had stuck it in someone's mouth. That only made him want to vomit even more, but he ignored it and ran towards the man once again.  
  
    Before he was even five feet away from him, Kyosuke was hit by some kind of invisible force that flung him backwards like a rag doll. His back hit the wall hard and for a second, he saw stars. "What's wrong, little lady? Can't stand a little competition?"  
  
    The floor then melted and turned into the same black substance that was climbing up his arm. The slime sucked him up like quick sand and the only thing the man did was watch as Kyosuke slowly disappeared into the sticky ground.  
  
  
    Kyosuke's eyes popped open. He sat up quickly, the sight of trees surrounding him immediately brought him tranquility. He had woken up in the same place he had fallen asleep that night. Kyosuke looked down and a small slip of paper was tucked under his hand. Curiosity taking over him, Kyosuke picked up the piece of paper and read it.  
  
    _Got in trouble. They escaped. He sent them after you. Thanks a lot. You drool in your sleep. Makoto._


	7. Hina

    It was as if everything had happened in slow motion. The cheers, the fight, the swaying trees - everything. Hina watched in utter horror as Ryuukoi used what must have been all of her strength to take Kira down. While the girl was throwing punch after punch, Kira on the other hand was struggling just to make a decent block. It was also then Hina noticed that the intelligent and mysterious Kira Sei was not as strong as she was assumed to be.  
  
    Hina clenched her fists, ready to step in. It was clear that Kira wasn't going to make it, and it wasn't fair that the two teens watching them didn't even try to interfere. Ryuukoi made a sharp left hook which sent Kira crumbling to the ground. Time resumed and before Hina knew what she was doing, she was already standing in front of Kira's still figure.  
  
    "What the hell do you think you're doing!" Ryuukoi yelled. She tried throwing another left hook, but Hina swiftly blocked it with both arms while Ryuukoi's fist was only inches away from her face. "I'm stopping this before you do any further damage to her!" She replied as she shoved Ryuukoi's hand away.  
  
    "She's right Ryuu, you've done enough already," Boruto announced as he stepped into the circle. Everyone was silent as they slowly stepped aside to let him through. Hina couldn't explain how she angry she felt as her blood reached boiling point. She turned around sharply and glared directly at Boruto. "You - you have no right to even say that!" She exclaimed, her anger was beginning to become uncontrollable.  
  
    "You - you just stood there all this time, just _watching_ her get pummeled and you think _now_ is a good time to say that?" Boruto stared at Hina for a second, studied her facial expression, and smiled. It was the kind of smile that took Hina by surprise and made her wonder why he was giving her that sort of reaction.  
  
    "You're right, you are completely right. Why am I even asking that question? The type of question that I should have asked in the middle of the fight - why?" He looked down at Kira, still motionless on the ground, her protector lying next to her arm, untied. Sora ran over to her and picked her up bridal style. Everyone, still completely silent, moved out of her way as she hurried towards the building.  
  
    Boruto looked at his feet, the smile still on his face, and shook his head. "You kids...you kids are a lot different than the ones I grew up with. This is sad, what has happened to you guys? Only one person, _one person,_ from this whole group had the courage to step in for a fellow shinobi." He looked at everyone, his eyes traveling slowly to each sullen face. "I wonder, what will become of you all years later? That's certainly something to ponder on. You're free, come back inside in twenty minutes."   
  
    He then turned and walked towards the building with Mitsuki following close behind. By the looks of his face, he wasn't happy either. Hina looked back at Ryuukoi, who gave her a death glare before running off with a group of kids. She bit her lip and sat down on the hard ground, right next to Kira's red protector. If she possibly did the right thing, why did she feel so weird about it?  
  
    "Hey, why the long face?" A boy asked as he sat next to her. She would normally yell at people like him to mind their business, but she really wasn't in the mood at the moment. "You know, making a face like that doesn't make you look that attractive." He poked her in the arm, she sighed and scooted away from him. "You really aren't gonna budge," he said, his voice filled with disappointment, as he stood up and brushed himself off. Hina really didn't feel like doing anything at all.  
  
    _Great job Hina, you stepped in for a student one time and you're already the center of attention. Not to mention you just made an enemy..._ She knew that the boy was still there, staring at her, but she refused to look up. He huffed and stuck his hand out in front of her face. "Get up, there's no need to sulk. If you feel like you did the right thing, then you shouldn't be acting like that," he stated reassuringly.  
  
    It was clear he wouldn't budge until Hina took his hand, so she did just that. After she got up, Hina looked up at the boy for the first time. He flashed a huge smile and his lime green eyes tinkled with delight. In Hina's opinion, he was pretty alright looking, but he still wasn't a Shino.  
  
    "Come on, don't look so down. You're alright, everything's alright, so don't act like it's all you're fault." He then began to walk away before Hina stopped him once more. "If you thought that was the right thing to do, then why didn't _you_ step in to stop her?" She asked automatically.  
  
    He frowned slightly, and then smiled again. "I-I'm not really good with..." He trailed off, his voice so low that only he could probably hear it. Before Hina was able to ask him about what he was going to say, the boys eyes wandered past her and his expression turned from embarrassed to perplexed in a split second. "What?" Hina asked him. "What are you looking-"  
  
    The rest of the sentence became stuck in her throat as she turned around. There, walking at a strangely slow pace, was Kyosuke Nakamura, the person who Hina was dying to talk to ever since he left.  
  
    But, something didn't seem right about him. As he trudged along, he made no attempt to even make a single recognition as to where he was. He just seemed to be moving as if someone was controlling him, much like a puppet. Yes, that's exactly what he looked like as Hina and the boy watched him.  
  
     They're eyes never left him as he continued to walk past the academy yard and out of sight. “What happened to him?" The boy asked with a tone that sounded as if it was mixed with both disgust and confusion. Hina shook her head in response, the guy she saw walking past didn't look like the guy who left Konoha a couple months ago.  
  
     The other one was more cheerful while this one seemed a little, out there. That's when Hina shoved Kira's headband into the hands of the cyan haired boy and ran off in the same direction Kyosuke walked. She ignored the shouts of the boy, calling her back, and the shouts of Boruto calling them back inside.  
  
     Hina blocked out all of that and jumped straight over the fence that seperated the school grounds from the rest of society. Clouds of dust formed behind her as she ran as fast a she could in search of the spiky haired teen. After what seemed like thirty long minutes, she found him a good distance away from the school. Which was strange, since he was walking slower than a tortoise.  
  
     “Hey, wait!" She called out frantically as she quickly ran after him and blocked his way. Some people turned to look at her with faces that clearly stated that she wasn't supposed to be skipping school. But, Hina didn't care and grabbed Kyosuke by his arms. “What happened to you?" She asked him with pure concern. Kyosuke looked down at Hina as if he wanted to say something but didn't have the heart nor energy to.  
  
     He stared at her for a few more seconds before walking past her and continuing his journey. Hina growled inwardly and stomped in front of him again. This time she grabbed his hand and led him in the opposite direction. If Hina was going to make any connection with the guy, it was going to be in the privacy of her home. More adults looked at her strangely as she pushed past people while tugging a helpless Kyosuke along with her.  
  
    The whole way there, Hina cursed herself out for skipping school like that. But, she new that in her opinion, it was for a completely good reason. Plus, it wasn't even the first time she had done it. She finally made it to house and shoved Kyosuke inside after unlocking it. She then ripped off his backpack and sat him on one of her couches. "Wh-what are you doing?" Kyosuke asked as he watched Hina run around the room and close every curtain in the living room.  
  
    _Gotta get some answers, gotta get some answers._ In just a few minutes, Hina was ready to start. She handed Kyosuke a cup of tea and sat down in a chair facing the front of the couch. "So, what happened to you? People were worried, the _Hokage_ was worried," Hina stated, even though she was only lying a little bit. It was only her and the Hokage who actually thought of the traveler's disappearance.  
  
    Kyosuke looked at Hina with those same emotionless brown eyes, almost like a doll's. He clutched the cup tightly and didn't say a word, almost as if someone restricting him from doing so. "Look dude,"Hina started. "It'll be a lot easier for the both of us if you just spoke already. Just - one - little - word."  
  
    Kyosuke sighed, set the cup down on the side table. "Why should I even tell you? You're twelve, it's not like you'll understand anyway." He shook his head, rubbing his temples with his fingers. Hina pursed her lips in frustration, to think it would be _this_ hard to get a little information out of someone who was supposed to be more mature than her. Yet, she still didn't give up.  
  
    "Well you're like what, seventeen? You're only a few years older than I am so you don't have to act as if you're thirty or something." Kyosuke glared at her and stood up.  
  
    Immediately a small, dark blue book fell out of his pocket and landed right next to Hina's left foot. Kyosuke, somehow, didn't seem to notice. "For your information, I'm _nineteen_ which makes me a lot older than you. So, that also means that I'm practically an adult." He then stopped talking and almost fell backwards. Hina seized her chance and snatched up the book before Kyosuke noticed what she did.  
  
    "C-can I use your bathroom, I-I don't feel well," he said, breathing heavily. Hina looked at him as if he was juggling poisonous snakes and quickly told him where her bathroom was. After Kyosuke ran upstairs, Hina took out the book and began to read. It was mostly full of difficult jutsus and a list of techniques that he had created himself. But, Hina read on in hopes that it might say something about the "Heavens" the guy kept babbling about.  
  
    That's when the entries got a little weirder as she kept reading. Instead of actual words, there were sloppily drawn pictures of God knows what standing behind a small scribble of a little girl crouched on the floor in the middle of a dark forest.  
  
    As Hina kept flipping through it, the pictures got weirder and a lot messier until they were nothing but a mess of thin black spirals covering most of the paper. _What the hell is up with this guy, is he insane or...?  
  
    _She flipped the page which Hina confirmed was the creepiest by far. Scribbled all over two pages was the word _"Peorth"_ in all capitals. Hina's left eye twitched, she was beginning to reconsider bringing the guy in her house. “Um, hey weird guy, who's Peorth?" Hina called out the living room door.  
  
     She heard a couple things fall on the tiled floor in the bathroom and Kyosuke quickly ran downstairs and snatched the book from Hina. “You, you don't need to know. Why were you even reading this?" He asked frantically. Kyosuke looked a lot less dead after all of that time in the bathroom, his eyes had life in them and the weird dark circles under his eyes had disappeared. All in all, it only made him look a lot younger than his actual age. Hina stared him down hard, “Kyosuke, something's bothering you. It's pretty obvious by the looks of your journal entries, you can tell me you know."  
  
     Hina stood up and walked up to him, she was barely able to reach his chin. Kyosuke groaned and sat back on the couch. He then looked up at Hina and grimaced. “Weird things happened to me on my way here. I don't think I'll be able to explain them to you, though. But, it only made me miss her even more." He buried his head in his hands and ran his fingers through his hair.  
  
     Hina nodded slightly and sat down next to him. She decided not ask him about the Heavens, the subject seemed to be irrelevant at the moment. “It would probably take some weight off of your chest if you told me," she said reassuringly. “I'll try to understand as best as I can, no matter how weird."  
  
     So, for the next hour, Kyosuke told her about what he experienced. Some seemed normal to her, others didn't, and a few just sounded so far-fetched that Hina had the urge to not believe him. As he rambled, Hina quickly snatched up a pencil and paper and began to scribble everything she could. From the throne room, to the shrieking dolls and weird tall guys made of black goo, she took it all down.  
  
     After that he just talked about how some girl named Peorth was the only one he truly loved and that he wanted to see her after visiting Konoha. But, all of those strange dreams had stopped him from doing so.  
  
      When he was done, Kyosuke just sat in the same spot and stared at Hina quizzically as she finished writing everything down. “Let me guess, you're gonna use this to prove that I'm insane?" Hina cracked a smile, the first genuine one she was able to make that day. “No, I just figured that I could use all of this for - er - research!" She said nervously, even though she had no idea what she was going to study.  
  
     “Anyway, maybe I could ask the Hokage about that Peorth problem. You were gone for a while so I'm sure she stopped by to see if you were okay." Hina then stood up and walked out the front door. Kyosuke was about to follow her until she stopped him at the door. "You stay here and rest, it seems as though you had gone through a lot so far, so you really need to replenish your energy," she explained hurriedly as she shoved the boy back inside before he could protest and closed the door behind her.  
  
    She took out her keys and locked it even though Kyosuke was perfectly able to unlock it from the inside. Doing that just felt right to her.  
  
    Hina was, in fact, _not_ going to the Hokage's office because she believed that going there once this week was good enough. Instead, she decided that the library was the best place to go to get some good information. But, not about Peorth - she honestly couldn't care less about her - Hina was going to the library to find out about that weird place in the forest.  
  
    The scorching sun beat down on her ten times harder than before, since it was already the afternoon. Hina wasn't even half way there before she felt as if she would have collapsed on the spot. As she looked around, there weren't as many people out. It was probably because of the intense heat, and she didn't blame them. If she didn't have anything to do, she would have also been indoors.  
  
     But, she really needed to take a closer look into Kyosuke's strange story. Time seemed to speed up as she walked and Hina quickly found herself in front of the giant doors of the library. She took a deep breath, pushed the door open and was instantly greeted with icy cold air and the weird smell of the inside of a new book.  
  
     Hina hurried over to the computer station, making sure that the librarian didn't take notice of her. She sat down at the farthest computer, took out the paper she had scribbled all over and began to work.  
  
     However, she had never thought about how hard the task would be when she got there. Nothing in the library had matched what Kyosuke told her. Hina even looked through lots of books throughout the whole library - avoiding the librarian, of course - but came up with nothing. Hina sat back down in her chair, all of the spirit had been sapped out of her hours ago. Absolutely nothing came up when she scoured the internet, no matter how many times she tried to search and rephrase it, and the books were blank of anything that had to do with a weird building in the middle of the forest.  
  
     "God, I hate this place," Hina said to herself in disgust. She ran her fingers through her hair and briefly rubbed the bright green clip holding some of her hair back. _I'm done with this stupid place, I tried and nothing came out of my hard work._ As soon as she stood up, she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder. Hina's whole body froze with panic. "Oh my young lady, shouldn't you be in school at this time?" A woman's icy cold voice asked from behind her.  
  
    Hina chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head. his seriously wasn't going to end well for her. "I'm guessing I'm going to be punished now, right?" She asked while looking at her feet, she didn't even bother to turn around.  _So, much for the search._ The woman's grip tightened on her shoulder and Hina suddenly shuddered. "Oh honey, you have no idea how much trouble you're in right now."


	8. Shino

     “Okay, so um," Boruto flipped through a large stack of papers. His once cheerful exterior contorted into an expression that looked as if it were mixed with both confusion and slight anger. "I guess your teacher must have been _really_ busy, so I'll just finish up the day by telling you guys what teams you'll be on since you all were basically itching to know." Mitsuki grumbled something under his breath and leaned back in his chair.  
  
    Shino propped his head on his two folded hands and stayed silent as everyone around chattered excitedly around him. He sighed quietly and smirked, Hina wasn't there to hear what team he was on. Apparently, word got around that she jumped over the fence like a crazy person and chased down some stranger. He wasn't even surprised in the slightest, though.  
  
    Hina has always been weird, so weird in fact, that Shino couldn't stand to even talk to her anymore. He couldn't even fathom the thought that he actually did used to communicate with that she-devil at all.  
  
    "Alright then, for Team One we have," Boruto announced. He looked around the room to see if everyone was listening which was pretty unnecessary due to the fact that the whole class had quieted down before he even opened his mouth. Shino sighed once more, this time putting his head on his desk. "Cantus, Ayumu Ieyoshi, Mika Tsuyomi, and Hiroki Kita." Three boys and one girl stood up, looked at each other and sat back down.  
  
    The only thing that struck Shino as weird was the fact that one boy with brownish-red hair stood up but stared straight ahead, he didn't even bother to take a glance at his new teammates. Boruto grinned at the four and looked back down at the paper. "Now for Team Two." Boruto paused for what seemed to be dramatic effect. If it was even possible, the room got quieter and every single person leaned forward.  
  
    "Satoru Uno, Sora Susume, Amai Kyomi, and Shaka Kinjuri." Two boys and two girls stood up, looked at each other and then sat back down. Shino groaned, and laid his back against the chair. If calling out the names was going to take this long, he might as well sit back and wait.  
  
    A couple very long minutes had passed with students standing up with their new teammates and sitting back down. Shino watched it all with half-lidded eyes before Boruto raised his voice. "Alright, here's the last Team, even though you guys might know who you are." He cleared his throat dramatically and began to read.  
  
     “Hina Himura, Taken Ohshi, Shino Uchiha, and Kira Sei. You four may stand up." Shino got up from his seat slowly, his eyes scanning the room for the others. After him, another boy stood up, he looked to be much taller and muscular than Shino. Then Kira stood up after that, she looked back at the two and faced forward again, her face completely blank of any emotion.  
  
     There was absolutely no sign of Hina. Shino grimaced and scratched his head in fake confusion. He knew that Hina wasn't going to make it back in time. It was just the fact that he ended up on the same team as her. Boruto looked at the three quizzically. “Where's Hina? Is she in the bathroom or something?" Taken Ohshi looked around the room nervously before sitting down, Kira sighed and followed suit. The rest of the room fell silent as Shino lowered himself into his seat and laid back.  
  
     A minute had passed before a pale hand popped up. Boruto stood up and smiled at the student. “Yes Amai?" The boy stood up, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “Um, Hina jumped over the fence and ran after some guy after I spoke to her in the yard earlier. I tried to call her back, but she didn't hear." The whole class whispered to each other. Things like, “I saw her too!" and “She's so lucky. "  
  
     “Some guy? Hina's been here long enough to know that she can't do something like that," Mitsuki stated from the corner of the classroom. _A guy? Hina? What the hell..._ Shino's hand flew into the air before he realized what he had done. “Sensei, I will look for Hina and tell her what team she's on." _Why did I say that? Why did I say that?  
  
    _"Alright then, Shino. Just make sure that you remember, class dismissed." Boruto said before straightening all of the papers on his desk and walked out. Mitsuki was still sitting on the chair in the corner with his head low and his arms crossed. Everyone scrambled from their seats and walked out with their new teams.  
  
    Shino got up slowly, every part of his body aching. He just had to say something even though he had no idea where Hina was, why did he even open his mouth in the first place? "Um, hi Shino." A male's voice said from the back of the room. Shino had been standing there for so long, he didn't even notice that he was now standing in an empty classroom. He turned around sharply to see a boy with brown hair standing at the very back of the room. "Who the hell are you?" Shino asked, moving towards the exit. Shino had seen him before, but the boy's name wasn't coming to him.  
  
    "Oh, I'm uh- Wait, how do you _not_ know me?" The boy asked as Shino walked out of the classroom. "The substitute called our names, we're on the same team!" Shino walked faster. He didn't have time to talk to the boy, he had to find Hina. That was his top priority at the moment, to find Hina...  
  
    "Hey! Wait up!" Shino could hear the boy running after him, his heavy footsteps making loud thumping sounds down the hallway. _Why the hell is this guy still following me? Can't he see that I don't feel like being talked to?_ Shino quickly ran down the stairs and sprinted out the door. He could still hear the boy following him, except he was awfully quiet this time.  
  
    Shino sighed, he might as well learn the boy's name. He stopped and turned around, his eyes set on the boy standing there. "Fine, why don't you tell me your name, then?" He growled. They were both standing in the middle of a dirt pathway with adults and children walking around them and shooting them sharp glares. The boy shook his head and groaned while rubbing his temples. "I'm Taken Ohshi," He said simply. Shino looked at him up and down, the name wasn't ringing a bell. "Your teammate?" Taken Ohshi cocked his head to the side, waiting for Shino's reply. He looked at the boy for another moment before nodding as if he had remembered. "Oh yeah, I remember now. You're on my team - right," Shino mumbled before turning back around and walking down the path again.  
  
    His first stop was going to be Hina's house, and if she wasn't there he had no idea where else she could be. From the corner of his eye, he saw Taken Ohshi run up next to him. Shino caught a glimpse of him glance over before looking in front again. "So, where are we going?" Taken Ohshi asked, looking over at Shino shyly.  
  
    Shino groaned inwardly, he had thought that the boy was going to leave after he told him his name. But unfortunately, that didn't happen, he was still stuck with the guy. "I going to fi-" Before he could finish, everything flashed white and Shino hit the ground hard. His head felt as if it was being pounded with a hammer. Shino choked, his lungs didn't seem to function properly. Taken Ohshi's panicked cries were drowned out by different voices, that were getting louder by the second.  
  
     _"You miserable fools. How could you let him go like that?" A deep voice growled. Three shadows flinched and one of them stood up shakily. "Sir, we're sorry. But, it was my brother who caused it, his stupid medications made him go berserk."_ _A loud thump was heard and all three shadows flinched once again. "I don't care who caused it, I want him back here immediately. You're lucky I'm in a good mood or I would have killed you all for releasing my test subjects."  
  
    All three shadows breathed a sigh of relief. "But-" They all froze. "B-But?" One of them asked nervously. "Yes, now as I was saying, that doesn't mean that you all won't be punished for what you have done," the voice explained. "Anyway, I have another assignment for you three as well. You all will go out and find a girl-"  
  
    "A _girl _?" Another shadow exclaimed. This one sounded a lot deeper than the other two. "You want a girl? But, sir, your wife-"  
  
    "I know, you fucking idiot! This is _for _my wife!" He yelled and the whole room trembled in response. "She's getting old, her powers aren't supporting her as well as before. So, I want you to find a girl who is both young and strong enough to be my wife's new host. If you guys fail, I won't hesitate to rip your hearts out by hand. Now, leave me."  
  
    All three shadows stood up and bowed. "Yes, my lord." They all said simultaneously before walking out the large door and slamming it behind them. The largest shadow leaned back on his large throne and heaved a loud sigh.  
  
    _Shino gasped and opened his eyes. His eyes took in everything around him and it soon registered in his brain that he was in someone's bedroom. "It's about time you woke up, loser," a familiar voice said from somewhere in the room. Shino sat up and blinked a few times before seeing Hina standing at her desk, ruffling through her drawers. He shook his head, it felt heavier than before. "What happened?" He asked quietly. "Why am I here?" Shino tried to get up, but almost fell down and decided to sit on the bed again.  
  
    "This guy, Taki or whatever, found me and told me that you collapsed and needed help. I said no at first, but he looked really desperate so I complied and you ended up here where you've been knocked out for the past five hours. It's like eight something right now," she explained in a blur of words. Shino normally would have caught everything she said, but his head felt too fuzzy to do so. "So, where's Taki?" He finally asked after a moment of silence.  
  
    "He's downstairs, he said something about avoiding his family but I was too busy not caring to listen to him." Shino nodded, his mind wandering off to what he heard before. "Hey -er- Hina," he began slowly, not really sure of what he was about to say. "What do you want now, loser?" She replied, slipping her blue hair clip off. Shino sighed, he was beginning to regret interrupting her. It was possible that what he was going to say might seem way too far-fetched.  
  
    "Well, I'm waiting!" She exclaimed as she turned to face Shino with her hands on her hips. Shino took a deep breath, if he was going to say it, he might as well get it over with. "I've been having these weird dreams," he stated. "And they are pretty..." Shino went silent, he just didn't know how to explain it. Hina stared at him, her left eye twitching. "Pretty what?" She drawled, her head tilting slightly. "Don't leave me hanging, loser. Did you forget that I actually let you _lay_ on my bed? I could've put you on the ground in my backyard without hesitation."  
  
    "I-I don't know how to explain it, so nevermind," Shino stated quickly before laying back down on the bed and closing his eyes. "My thoughts are all over the place, so would you mind if I slept over?"  
  
    He heard Hina growl before mumbling something under her breath and leaving the room. He might as well tell her when his thoughts were back in order, or when the dreams began to make sense to him. But, in the meantime, Shino decided to take it easy and only tread lightly on the new information he just received. As he slowly went to sleep, he hoped that what happened wouldn't cause any trouble for him in the future.  
  
    _"I can't believe you! I specifically told you to keep a close eye on him."  
    "That's what I did, I didn't know that he would go and do that! Plus, how do you expect me to stop him? My powers aren't..."  
    "Ugh, I know that! Why did I have to get such an idiot for a brother, not to mention a pervert..."  
    "Just because I wanted to have a little fun for once, you label me as a pervert? Some sister you are."  
    "Well, your _subtle _remarks that you made towards the guy made him uncomfortable, now I sort of regret leaving you in the same area as him- Huh? What's with that face? Is there something you're not telling me?"_  
    "Oh dear no, my darling sister, why would you ever ask such a question?"  
    "That face you made..."  
    "I don't know what you're talking about."  
    "Of course you do! You're hiding something! But, I won't meddle since I have better things to do."  
    "Don't we all?"  
    "Smartass..."


	9. ______

    "Sir, I'm afraid I have some bad news." She turned to face the man, his shaggy brown hair covering his eyes. But, that still didn't stop her from seeing the worry and utter fright in them. She asked, "Kitsune, what are you mumbling about? Again, I don't read minds." Kitsune inched closer. "Nisshoku's team has disappeared along with Higure's and Karasu's teams. With further investigation, my team discovered that all three team's last appearances were in the exact same area."  
  
    This came as no surprise to her, she knew that something strange had been going on lately. She didn't know how, but she did. Maybe it was just natural instinct, or she was just on her toes too much.  
  
    "And where is this location?" She asked skeptically."Is it near any villages?" Kitsune blushed, and motioned for one of the men to come. A boy fairly younger than him ran over and whispered in his ear quickly before running back into position under a large tree. Kitsune cleared his throat and straightened up. "Sir, it seems that this area is fairly close to Konohagakure. "Yūutsu's team already marked off the area. It's really fortunate that they didn't disappear in the process."  
  
    _Fairly close to Konohagakure? But, we just passed it._ "And exactly what does this have to do with the mission we have now? If you haven't noticed already, we are are at the edge of the Land of Fire." She stated. "Any closer and we'd be caught and taken into the Land of Lightning for questioning. They're still pretty sore about us." She trailed off, mumbling to herself. The Land of Lightning had long increased their military and there were now soldiers everywhere. The Hokage really needed to talk to them.  
  
    "What I mean is, maybe that is where this Kyosuke guy has disappeared to. Maybe we should go back and look around." She thought for a moment. "Tora, alert the team's, we're going back." A boy with bright blue hair stood up, bowed and ran off into the trees. Kitsune smiled graciously and bowed as well. He began to walk off before she quickly stopped him. "Kitsune, you better be right or I swear I'll fire you. And I'm sure we both don't want that, now do we?"  
  
    He grimaced and nodded before trudging away in the opposite direction. She sighed and stood up, her pitch black hair tumbling down behind her. "Tsuki, I mean sir, are you sure you want to do this?" A boy asked from beside her. She turned to him and pursed her lips. "Why do you question me?" She asked as she walked over to a large rock. Lying on top was her mask, pale white with two narrow, slanted slits for eyes.  
  
    "I mean, you heard what he said about the other teams disappearing. I don't want that happening to you too, I'm worried about you." He said softly. She glanced at him sideways and turned back to the rock.  
  
    "Sekiei, stop acting stupid. The only way to find out what happened to the others is to go after them. We were trained to do missions like this, we don't 'play it safe' like the Lightning does." She snapped. "So don't forget the country you belong to." She picked up the mask and slipped it onto her face.  
  
    "Chi, Dani, Konpeki, Tsuta, move out. Back to Honō No Me, we have work to do." She then jumped into the trees in the direction they came, all of the teams split up and followed suit.


	10. Kyosuke

    "I'm sorry Nakamura, but we have some bad news for you." The Hokage sighed and rested his head on his folded hands. Kyosuke stood there silently, wondering why the Hokage had called for him at such an early time. "The anbu leader's radio cut off when we tried to message her, so we've come to the conclusion that they might have been abducted by either one of the neighboring countries."  
  
    Kyosuke left eye twitched and he glanced at all of the cloaked men and women standing beside the Hokage's desk. "Oh, okay. So, you want me to go and find them or something?" He asked slowly, his eyes giving the cloaked people another weird look.  
  
    "Yes and no. We don't technically want you to go now, there are already others who went. I've actually called you here to tell you that your -- um-- girlfriend went to go after you and she never came back." Kyosuke's brain suddenly became alert and every muscle in his body froze with fear. He hoped that the Hokage was just pulling his leg, he hoped that Peorth would jump out of one of those cloak costumes and assure him that she was fine.  
  
    With the Hokage staring at him seriously and the cloaked people silently staring him down too, Kyosuke did the only thing a nineteen year old in an uncomfortable situation would do. He laughed. "Ha-ha! Oh man, you are _so_ funny!" He exclaimed loudly, his laugh full of pain and false-humor. It soon faded away once he realized again that they were being serious. "Oh fuck my life," he groaned as he sat down on the carpet floor and put his head in his hands.  
  
    "I know this must be hard for you, but we will do everything we can to find her. Kyosuke's heart skipped a beat and his breath was caught in his throat. He looked up slowly, his eyes wide as he tried to breath again. "Look, everything is going to be ok-"  
  
    "No."  
  
    "Excuse me?"  
  
    "I said, _no!_ "  
  
    Kyosuke stood up just as fast as he sat down and pointed at the Hokage. "Everything is _not_ going to be _okay!_ You have no idea how much Peorth means to me, so I can't just sit here wondering where the hell she is right now while your little team goes out to 'find' her." All of a sudden, he figured out how to breath again. And he was breathing _hard.  
  
    _ He said, "Oh and if you haven't noticed, more than half of you goddamn anbu squad is missing, and you actually think sending more is a _good_ idea? Who the hell even sends _that_ many anbu for a fucking search party, huh? Have you ever thought about what would happen if this goddamn village was infiltrated?" He was on a roll and he didn't even think he could stop. Kyosuke was so angry that he kept on yelling and cursing while the Hokage just sat there, his face as stoic as his mountain sculpture.  
  
    When he was done, Kyosuke huffed and stomped out of the office without closing the door. Because he felt like being _that_ much of an asshole. He wasn't going to listen to what the Hokage said, he loved Peorth and he was going to find her himself.  
  
    Then, all of a sudden, he stopped cold. If Peorth was gone, could it be because she ended up in the same place he went when he was coming here? _No,_ he shook his head wildly. A few jounin looked at him strangely as he passed. _I really hope it doesn't come to that, I don't even remember where I was when I was taken to that awful place._ Kyosuke folded his arms and thought for a moment. _Wait, that place, those people..._  
  
    He had a feeling had forgot something, something that he should have been worried about. With a heavy sigh, Kyosuke turned back around and walked back into the Hokage's office. Even though he was gone for ten minutes, the Hokage's face looked as if Kyosuke just left a second ago. His face was still the same and he was sitting in the same position with the cloaked people standing around his desk, not moving a muscle.  
  
    "I knew you'd come back, Kyo," he said as he laid back in his chair. Kyosuke stood in the middle of the room and stared the man down, was he being serious? "And how would you know that?" He asked coldly as he ran a hand through his hair.  
  
    The Hokage smiled and chuckled quietly. "This isn't the first time you've lashed out and walked out," he stated simply. "If you haven't noticed, you always tend to come back, too." Kyosuke shook his head and sat back on the ground again, the Hokage really needed to get some chairs. "Fine whatever, I just came back here to see if you had anymore info on this subject. I mean, what are your thoughts?" The Hokage smiled and motioned for Kyosuke to come closer.  
  


 

 

  
    Kyosuke stumbled into Hina's house and closed the door. As he expected, the Hokage didn't know a lot about the situation at hand. He sighed and walked to the stairs, he was definitely going to save Peorth. But, he couldn't just go out and look in random places, he had to really think about this.

    "Hey, how long have you been in the sun? You look like the community garden's tomatoes," a voice stated from the living room. Kyosuke sighed, he was apparently standing in front of the living room doorway. He turned to see Hina sitting on the couch with two boys who were both reading from a piece of paper.

    "Who are these guys?" Kyosuke asked, completely ignoring Hina's previous comment. Hina looked back at the two who were now sitting on the couch, doing nothing while the paper laid on the table on top of an envelope. "They're my teammates, we just got a letter from our sensei and she wants us to meet her in one of the training grounds tomorrow. I think it was number thirteen or something."

    "It was eleven," both boys said at the same time, not even looking up fro whatever they were busy doing. Kyosuke looked at the three and sighed, so that was what children resorted to doing during boredom. "So," he began as he walked in and sat down on the couch next to them. "Aren't there supposed to be our of you or something? I mean, those _are_ the new rules, right?" The three of them sighed and moved around restlessly.

    "Well, if you're talking about Kira, she's probably at her house or something. There's something weird about that girl anyway, so those two dupes were too scared to ask her to come over," Hina explained simply. "Oh well these two dupes didn't ask her to join us because if you had eyes you would have seen that that girl is completely unapproachable!" Shino exclaimed. Kyosuke rolled his eyes and propped his head on his left arm. "She's always alone, she has this weird resting face that looks like she's always disgusted with someone and I feel like she always judges me whenever I try to talk to her," Taken Ohshi whined.

    "Oh wow, so interesting..." Kyosuke mumbled as he got up. "Hey, how about I get you guys ready for tomorrow? You know just in case your new sensei wants to test out your skills." He looked at the three expectantly as the all looked at each other as if they were talking to each other with facial expressions.

    "Um, sure," Shino replied as they all got up and walked towards the front door with Kyosuke. _Good, maybe this will help me think of a way to find Peorth,_ he thought to himself reassuringly. He opened the door and stepped outside with the three behind him. _Or_ maybe _this will make me forget about the pain I'm feeling right now._

    Kyosuke followed the three to Hina's backyard and took off his jacket, setting it on a lawn chair. He stretched, walked to the middle of the yard and sat down. "Alright, who's ready to begin?"


	11. Taken Ohshi

    As soon as the fight began, Kyosuke immediately disappeared. His image flickered a bit before he completely faded. Taken Ohshi stood up immediately and looked around frantically. The others gasped and ran up next to him, looking around as well. As soon as he felt something brush against his hand, his face began to heat up, _focus Taki!  
  
    _He heard grass rustle from behind him and he automatically brought forth as much chakra as he could muster and shot it in the direction of the sound. The bright blue ball of energy quickly sprouted flames and turned a dark shade of orange. As soon as it hit the grass near the lawn chairs, the ball exploded. The sound was loud, but not enough to disturb the whole neighborhood.  
  
    "Dude, what the heck?" Hina exclaimed from behind him. "This is still my house, you know!" Taken Ohshi ignored her and kept staring. He knew something was there, and he didn't need Hina distracting him with her annoying yelling. He noticed someone next to him and turned to look. Shino stood there silently and looked at that same spot too.  
  
    Taki froze and held his breath for a couple seconds, _focus Taki, focus Taki!_ Finally, he saw the black smoke from the grass jerk to the right a little without the wind influencing it and before he could react, Shino took out eight kunai knives, four on each hand, and threw them in the direction the smoke indicated. Seven knives flew by unharmed and planted themsleves on three different trees. But, the eighth one spun suddenly and hit the ground five feet from the three trees. "This is impossible!" Taken Ohshi exclaimed. "How are we ever gonna-" He felt a sharp pain in his abdominal area, flew back, and hit the brick wall of Hina's house. All of the wind left him at once which left him sputtering and looking around nervously. He saw Shino turn to look at him before Kyosuke appeared behind him and swiflty hit him on his neck with the side of his hand. Shino fell face first to the ground and struggled getting up.  
  
    After that, Kyosuke smirked and ran up a tree before disappearing again. While Taken Ohshi sat there and Shino squated on the ground, muttering to himself, Hina was left standing and she looked at the two with a face that was mixed with confusing, nervousness, and fright. Taken stood up quickly, his head still feeling a little fuzzy, and ran back to the middle of the yard. He had to focus this time, no hesitations, no distractions, no more-  
  
    "Taki, look out!" Hina exclaimed suddenly before running over and blocking him. Kyosuke had somehow snuck up on him and was about to take him out again before Hina jumped in. She pushed him back and began throwing a barrage of senbon needles in Kyosuke's direction while he ran around, dodging every one she threw. Taki saw Shino stand up and do a few quick hand signs. He then stood there, stuck out his right hand and a ball of blue chakra began to form. At first it looked a little weird and wispy, but as it grew in his hand, it began to make crackling sounds and a few sparks of electricity flew out of it. _What kind of chidori is that?_ He thought as he stood there. He then looked over and Hina was now physically fighting Kyosuke, and even though it was obvious that she was really good, Kyosuke was still able to block her attacks just as fast, maybe even faster. The crackling from Shino's chidori-looking chakra ball began to get louder and soon, it was as big as Shino's head. He then quickly threw it into the air and the ball turned white, making a sound that imitated television static.  
  
    Suddenly, large lighting bolts sprung from the ball, that was still floating in midair, and hit the ground while making loud buzzing sounds as it struck. Taken Ohshi looked at the ball in terror as it turned white once again and another lighting bolt struck the ground, this time a little closer to Kyosuke and Hina. Kyosuke noticed this, pushed Hina away, and quickly jumped to dodge the chakra-ball's next attack. As he ran, the ball sent bolts as wide as Taki's arm after him, its pace quickening. Soon, it went into some kind of frenzy and struck anything at random, which also left Taki and his teammates jumping around, dodging the attacks of Shino's strange ball. "What the hell is that thing, Shino!" Hina yelled as she swiftly dodged a bolt that would have singed her whole head.  
  
    After about half an hour, the ball faded away and everything went quiet. Taki, Hina, and Shino stood in the middle of the yard, and looked at the mess the ball made. "Holy hell, Shino," Taki began but then left it at that. Shino stayed silent and looked behind him. "Um, guys," he said while pointing in front of him. "Look." Both Taki and Hina turned to see what Shino was pointing to and saw Kyosuke laying on the ground twelve feet away from them. They all ran towards him and looked down at his face, it was emotionless and peaceful as he stayed there, not moving a muscle. Taki looked at him silently, and wondered if he was either passed out or died. "Kyosuke? Dude, you alright?" Hina asked as she reached down to poke his forehead.  
  
    Kyosuke's eyes popped open and his dark brown eyes stared back up at the three. He smiled and quickly sat up, Taki gave him a once-over and then sat down next to him. Did he pass out? "How are you feeling?" He asked as Kyosuke brushed himself off. "I feel fine actually, you guys are really good," he replied. Taki smiled widely, he was "good", it wasn't "great" or "awesome", but it was something. "However," Kyosuke began. Taken Ohshi's smile faltered a little. Of course, there had to be something added.  
  
    Kyosuke saw the look on his face and his smile grew wider. "Don't look like that, you want to do good on your first day right?" Taki looked back at the other two and they all nodded. "Good, now here's the thing." He pointed directly at Taken Ohshi. "You really need to stop daydreaming so much. I ran right up to you and yet you still didn't notice me. Hina, you need to jump in a bit more, even though you did put up a good fight, you hesitated for the first part and watched as they got kicked around." He then turned to Shino and said, "That jutsu you did was really impressive. Who taught you how to do that?" Shino shrugged and folded his arms behind his back. "It was just some thing that I was working on," he mumbled in reply. "Well, looking at the yard, that thing really did some damage. But, in the end, it looked like you lost control of it. So, that's why it went on the wild shooting spree. You need to focus on your jutsus so that doesn't happen again. But, overall, you guys did really good. Am I forgetting something?" He asked himself while standing up and brushing off his pants.  
  
    "Oh yeah, the main thing you guys need is teamwork. Even though there sort of was teamwork, I didn't see much of it during this fight and that's why you all didn't beat me." Taki looked at Kyosuke strangely, what he said sounded really familiar to him, as if he had heard that before coming from someone else. But, he just shook it off and stood up. "What time is it?" He asked them once he noticed that the sun began to set. Hina took a quick look at her watch and looked back up. "Yeah, it's like almost half-past five. Why'd you ask?" She replied nonchalantly. Taken Ohshi choked and quickly said goodbye to the three before running out of the yard. He was so caught up in the fight that he didn't even notice the time. His family was surely going to kill him if he was late again.  
  
    Then, his brothers would tease him and he would end up in his room crying and writing in his dia- _MAN JOURNAL._ Yeah, that's what he meant to say, his man journal, the one with fluffy fur and pink sparkly polka dots- Wait, why was he describing it? Man journals don't have fur with pink sparkly polka dots! Real men have journals that they use to write down the names of the people they were going to pummel later, not their feelings and the names of the people they have huge crushes on. That was _way_ too girly, and of course he'd never do any of that. If he did, he'd have to hide it in a secret locked used-to-be jewelry box that only he has the key to. But, fortunately, he doesn't own a diary like that because if he did, he'd also have a super cute pen to match- _No_ , he wasn't going to keep thinking about the diary that he keeps locked in that jewelry box with the adorable designs- _Wait!_ What the hell was he thinking? Of course he didn't have a book like that, anyway he had to focus on getting home quickly.  
  
    Taken Ohshi had to run past five grocery stores, three weapon making shops (with repairings included), and seven extremely nice smelling tea shops that made him feel like he was in another world every time he passed them. _Huh, when did these people start drinking so much tea?_ He shook off the thought and continued until he ended up in a really silent neighborhood houses ligned on either side. By then it started to get dark and the dark windows of the houses made him feel like there were people in there, watching him. Everytime he walked through that neighborhood, it made him feel as though he lived inside of some kind of ghost town, where the only family that actually still lived there was his. But, that wasn't true, the only other kid he knows that lives in his neighborhood was this girl (boy?) named Sora. (He was still confused on what he should call her (or they...). That change was _way_ too sudden for him.)  
  
    Taki kept walking down until the light from his house burned his eyes. It was pretty average so there was nothing to say about it, the only thing that wasn't average about the house, and the family compound it was in, was his family and Taki quickly braced himself as soon as he stepped up to the door and opened it. The once quiet place, got loud pretty quick and the sound of children yelling, things breaking, and adults scolding filled the block for a second before Taki stepped inside and closed the door behind him.  
  
    "Taken!" A little voice yelled, and Taken Ohshi smiled as his little sister, Shyli, ran up to him and gave him what she thought was a bear hug. But, Taki just smiled and hugged her back, greeting her as well. "Hey sis, what have you been doing today?" He asked her sweetly, picking her up. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck while he walked to his room, dodging flying pillows, vases, and his own brothers. He finally got to his room, unharmed, and closed the door behind him. "Aren't you going to eat something?" Shyli asked as she jumped off of Taken Ohshi and ran to his bed. He shook his head, telling her that he wasn't that hungry. "I already ate something at my friend's house," he lied. He didn't really like lying to her, but sometimes he just did.  
  
    In reality, he was too nervous to eat, with the test tomorrow and Kyosuke's advice about him daydreaming. Or was it more on the criticism side? He shook it off and laid back on his bed, he'd have to focus on being focused more and try not to be in his own head. He had to be as good as Shino, who was good enough to create a jutsu like that _on his own._ Even though he didn't say much, he was strong, and he was cool, collected, fearless- _Ugh, focus Taki, FOCUS!_ He sighed as he got up and unlocked the jewelry box that he hid under his bed. He then pulled out his _MAN JOURNAL_ with the matching pen and began writing in it while his sister jumped around wildly. He was going to need peace and quiet for this one...  
  
    But, unfortunately, he spoke too soon because just as the pen was about to hit the paper, he heard the shouts of his brothers, things like "Taken's here, when did he come in?" and "Wait, little Ohshi came home! Did his finally boyfriend get tired of 'im?" He sighed, put the book back, locked the jewelry box, and stuffed it back under his bed just as he heard the sound of his brothers stomping to his room. It looked like he was going to save his little session for later. First, he had to deal with thirteen of the biggest idiots ever.


	12. Kira

     _The sky is still dark, and most people are asleep at this time,_  Kira thought as she continued to stare at the neatly folded piece of paper.  _So, why does this lady want us to meet so early?_ There was a rustle from the bushes behind her and she quickly turned around to see two a boy and a girl walk out. As she stared at them, she quickly wondered if she had seen them before. Maybe it was somewhere in town, or maybe in her own class, she had a hard time remembering. "Oh, hey!" The boy greeted with excitement. Then, it had hit her, she had definitely seen them before.  
  
     How did she forget so quickly? They were her teammates and there was also another boy that was supposed to be with them. Kira grimaced and looked at her feet, she still couldn't understand why she had forgotten something that had only happened a day ago. Her mind was still cluttered with these thoughts when she had heard another rustle and a heavy thump. She then looked up only to find that the fourth member of her team had arrived and so did the sensei. She was a slightly tall young woman with short dark brown curls and piercing amber eyes.  
  
     As Kira took her eyes off of her sensei, she noticed that the rest of her team had already lined up next to her, and she was probably too much in thought to notice. “Hm, that seems about right," the sensei muttered to herself as she rolled up a scroll and put it in her back pocket. She then liked up and smiled at the three of them. In Kira's opinion, it wasn't really a confident smile but it wasn't too shy either. She looked as if she was sort of nervous but was trying really hard not to show it. Kira sighed inwardly, she really had to stop studying people like that, it was starting to get annoying, even for her.  
  
     “So, you all are my new team, huh?" The sensei chuckled, still trying not to sound nervous. “Okay, well I'm not really one for introductions so let's just skip that and get to the real action. I'll learn more about you guys as soon as we start missions together. Well, if you're good enough to pass." Without even realizing it, Kira's hand was already in the air. The sensei looked directly at her and smiled, “Yes, um-" She paused for a quick second and Kira took that time to speak. “Kira, Kira Sei. I just wanted to ask, what are we doing anyway?" The others nodded, as of they had also been thinking that.  
  
    "Well, you'll know in just a second," she replied mysteriously before jumping onto a nearby tree and disappearing. Kira and the rest of her team stared at the direction she had gone in for about two minutes before a loud mechanical sound erupted fro the forest behind them. Kira's heart dropped all the way down to her toes as she realized what was coming out of the forest. Four six foot tall humanoid robots marched out of the trees and lined up three feet away from Kira and her team.  
  
    As she stared at the three faceless mechas, Kira found herself unable to move. She new that the Hokage was working on putting mechas in the anbu squad for secret missions, but she never thought that she would be fighting one at that moment. She bit her lip nervously, it would have been much easier if she had fought actual humans, but that was crossing the line completely. Kira felt that her sensei was just cheating so that she would have a reason to fail them, in fact, there had been a huge decrease in people failing this test for some reason.  
  
    But, she decided to shake it off and focus on the silver robots that stood before her and her squad. "So, how are we gonna do this?" The girl asked quietly, almost as if they might be attacked if the heard the sound of her voice. "I have no idea, but we better think of something fast, or else this whole thing might not end well." The tall brown haired boy whispered back.  _Oh please,_ she thought bitterly to herself,  _it's not like this fight will end well even if we_ did  _do something.  
  
    _But, she stayed silent and continued to stare until one of them began to move. It shifted a little, making a strange whirring sound as it moved. Then, as if they all were waiting for Kira and her team to be distracted, they all jumped into the air simultaneously and swung their left arms across their bodies as if they all threw something towards the ground. Kira was confused for a moment before she heard a swift swoosh of air and a soft thump at her feet.  
  
    As soon as she looked down, a loud exploding sound was heard and Kira found herself knocked off of her feet. She felt herself fly threw the air for a split second before she hit the ground hard and rolled all the way into a tree at the other end of the field. As she go up shakily, everything spun around her and Kira felt as if she was going to throw up any minute.  _That does it, these stupid scraps of polished metal will have to go down one way or another because I am_ not  _failing this test!_ Kira gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. The three mechas looked around together, not one of them turning their heads in a different direction than the others.  
  
    When their heads turned away from her, Kira took this as her chance to attack. She ran quickly towards them, did a few quick hand signs, stuck out her right hand and a ball of dark blue chakra swirled in her palm. She then brought the ball to her face, whispered her jutsu to herself and blew the ball towards the robots. It flew around them quickly a few times before bursting into flame and flying around the three with a lot more speed.  
  
    "Kira! Kira, wait!" A boy's voice yelled from afar. "What are you doing?" Kira ignored the voice and stopped about five feet away from the mechas, who were simultaneously trying to swat the ball of fire that had automatically split into three smaller ones as soon as one of their hands had hit it. As she glared at the three silver, faceless, humanoid robots, she did more hand signs. But this time, she went through them slowly and carefully.  _Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. Please let this work, please let this work._  
  
     She sucked in as much air as she could, cupped her hand in front of her mouth in a circle shape, and blew as hard as she could. Kira felt the heat in her chest, but unfortunately, the Fireball Jitsu didn't work as well as she ha hoped. There was only a spark of flame and a medium sized cloud of black smoke. She coughed a few times, and stared at the cloud in disbelief. She had worked on that jitsu for weeks with Sarada and there had been a much bigger flame that time.  
  
     At that time, one of the robots had already swatted away the last fireball and they all quickly faced Kira. The largest robot, which stood in the middle, stepped in front of the other two. It's bright yellow eyes stared at Kira for a moment, studying her, before jumping up into the air once again and landing directly in front of her before she had time to run. “Uh, guys? You do know that you're all apart of his too, right?" She said nervously as she stepped back. And for some strange reason, it seemed as though the robots didn't make a move until she did.  
  
     “Get away from her!" A girl's voice yelled as five senbon needles flew above Kira's head and hit the robot. Two landed in its left eye while the rest dented his chest. It twitched as sparks flew from the side of its head and the mecha stepped back. The girl with the purple hair then ran in front of Kira, shielding her from the six foot monster. “I can't believe I'm saving you again!" The girl exclaimed, “Is this a normal thing for you?"  
  
     “What, no! I can fight well, thank you very much!" She retorted. “It's just that, for some reason, I-" Kira paused, she couldn't find a way to explain it. For some reason, every jutsu that she tried lately would always fail and it was getting pretty annoying. The girl growled, “Whatever! Just station yourself in a tree somewhere and wait until we give you a signal!" She then blocked one of the robot's punches, winced, and continued fighting it. “We? Where are the others?" Kira asked, a little confused.  
  
     Almost immediately, the tall boy with the brown hair jumped out of nowhere and quickly took down one of the smaller robots. The impact made a huge dent in the mecha's chest and large sparks were flying out. By the looks of it, the robot definitely wasn't going to be getting back up anytime soon, or even at all. The boy then brushed himself off, winked at the purple haired girl and quickly set to work on the third mecha.  
  
     It was then that Kira realized she had done something wrong from the beginning. She had spent all of that time doing something on her own, while her teammates were huddled somewhere together, thinking of a way for them to work as a team to beat their opponents. Kira clenched her fists, glaring directly at the one robot that was left standing. Suddenly, one of the robots began to shift and stand up. The dents on it's chest began to mend itself and a couple seconds later, it looked as if it had never seen a fight.  
  
    Shino, the boy, and the purple haired girl stopped fighting the first robot and stepped back quickly. The third robot then got up and straightened itself out as well, and all three mechas stood tall again, staring back at the four of them with their glowing red eyes. "Retreat, retreat!" The tall boy yelled as he ran past Kira and back into the trees. Shino and the girl ran back too and motioned for Kira to follow. She stared at the three machines for a while before running into the bushes and crouching down right next to the purple haired girl.  
  
    "Alright," she whispered shouted. "If we're going to beat these things, we're all going to step in and work together." They all nodded in agreement and Kira did so too. She then looked at Kira and her stare suddenly hardened. "We _will_ get out of this, and we'll do it _together_. So, here's what I'm thinking."


	13. Kyosuke

    "N-Naruto-san, I don't understand." Kyosuke stood in the middle of Hina's living room, looking at the Hokage nervously as he circled the room, examining things. "You can't be living here anymore Kyosuke, you're a grown man. You shouldn't be living here with a little girl you just met," he explained carefully. "I know this sounds weird to you, but I'm just trying to keep people safe. And for the most part, some of my subordinates think you're not really who you say you are, since you just popped out of nowhere and all, so they are pretty uneasy about the fact that you're here with a girl that's so much younger than you."  
  
    Kyosuke gritted his teeth, trying his hardest not to curse. "Well, you can tell your stupid subordinates that I am me and nothing had happened to Hina while I've been here. I'm perfectly fine and there's nothing wrong with me." The Hokage looked up at Kyosuke seriously and squinted. "Nothing's wrong with you? You say that nothing's wrong with you, huh?" He asked while slowly walking up to Kyosuke. "Well, if there's nothing wrong with you, do you care to explain this, then?" The Hokage swiftly pulled out Kyosuke's blue notebook from out of his pocket.  
  
    It took a second to realize who the book belonged to before Kyosuke jumped towards the Hokage in an attempt to snatch the book from him. "I don't think so," the Hokage chuckled. "You will explain what all of this stuff is, since you claim that you are pretty sane. Oh and a side note, that little 'show' that you put on the other day in my office really didn't help you in your case. That was _so_ unlike you."  
  
    Kyosuke glared at the Hokage, if his eyes were about to make daggers appear, he would have shot one into his head. "Fine," he growled through gritted teeth. "I'll tell you, then." A sly smile slowly crept onto the Hokage's lips and he gracefully took a seat on the couch that was sitting right next to him. "And please don't try anything. I have my guards waiting outside." The Hokage added in a tone that was unlike his own. Kyosuke sighed as he glared at the Hokage and took a seat on the same couch, but one spot away from where the Hokage was sitting.  
  
    "While I was walking through the forest one night, on my way back here," he began bitterly and watched as the Hokage nodded slowly, urging him to go on with that same taunting smirk. His hat was tipped down so that a shadow cast over his ocean blue eyes. Kyosuke bit his lip and clenched his fists, but he continued on, "It was getting dark, so I decided to stop and make a camp. By the time I laid down and closed my eyes, I heard rustling coming from the bushes around me, but I was too tired to check it out." He hesitated, that part was where his mind got fuzzy, as if someone had smudged some of the images in his head in a horrible attempt to erase them.  
  
    But, he continued, trying to explain what he saw as best as he possibly could. "When I woke up, I wasn't able to move my body, and I ended up in some room with two guys standing over me, they were talking about something. Something possibly important, but I just can't remember. A while passed when a girl walked in, she saw me and yelled at the two boys, saying that I wasn't the one they were searching for. But, they brought me to their queen anyway. Or at least I think she was their queen. I-I can't even remember that conversation. All I remember from my time with that lady was that her name started with an 'N'.  
  
    "Anyway, after that, I was brought to some medical room and on the way there some boy with pink hair and red eyes..." He trailed off. The boy. The only person he had managed to remember was the boy. His name still remained a mystery to him, but he definitely knew that there was a boy with pink hair and red eyes involved. "There...there was a boy..." He mumbled to himself. "He-he gave me some sort of drug and I passed out." The Hokage looked at him skeptically. "A boy?" He asked. "With pink hair and red eyes?" He looked over to the front door briefly before turning back to Kyosuke.  
  
    "Yes, and the I saw him again. But he looked different, he _acted_ different. Not...like himself. He...he brought me to a dark room, and then I saw...I saw..." Kyosuke felt as though his brain was on overload. He couldn't remember what had happened in the room, nor could he remember how he had gotten back to Konoha. "Kyosuke," the Hokage said softly. "Why are you crying?" Kyosuke locked eyes with the Hokage and brought his hand up to touch his cheek. It was wet.  
  
    Kyosuke cracked an awkward smile. "I can't remember," was all he was able to say. He quickly wiped away the tears, snatched the book out of the Hokage's hands and stuffed it in his pocket. "Anyway, I got you an apartment to live in, you'll move in there immediately," the Hokage explained. Kyosuke crossed his arms angrily and stared at the Hokage. "I still don't understand why I have to do this," he said stubbornly.  
  
    "Okay, the main reason why I want you to do this is because of _this._ " The Hokage snapped his fingers and two anbu came in from the front door carrying an averaged sized body. As they laid the body on the ground, Kyosuke noticed that it was a boy who looked no older than fifteen with long locks of dark pink hair. Kyosuke froze and stared down at the boy whose face was low but he still knew that he was conscious. "Is that-?" He began slowly, his eyes still locked on the boy.  
  
    "The kid you described earlier? Possibly," the Hokage replied quickly. "There were two anbu who were apparently left to stand guard and they found this kid sneaking around, so they caught him." The boy moved a little, but it caught the attention of nobody. "He was an easy catch, too. Didn't even try to fight back, so he's either low on chakra or a _peke_ ," the anbu with the boar mask said. The Hokage nodded and turned back to Kyosuke.  
  
    "So, I am giving you an assignment. Since he won't talk to us, there's a chance that he'll open up to you. I mean, if he's the guy we think he his, he'll probably remember your face and he'll start talking." Kyosuke looked at the three men as if they had lost their minds. If he wouldn't talk to them about his plans, then what made them think that just because the boy had seen Kyosuke before, he would suddenly blurt out everything? "I'm sorry Naruto, but the fact that he knows me doesn't really change anything. So, bringing him here was pretty pointless if you ask me."  
  
    The Hokage nodded, turned back to look at the two anbu, and jerked his head towards the door. The both nodded and grabbed the boy by his arms. As they dragged him towards the door, the Hokage turned back to Kyosuke and began to speak once again. "Well, if you won't get anything out of him, I guess our interrogator will have to either torture him into talking or forcibly go inside of his brain to find what we're looking for." He explained as he backed towards the door.  
  
    "But, you will have to move out soon. That decision isn't changing." Kyosuke watched as he and the two anbu left, dragging the boy with them. Strangely, he wasn't putting up much of a fight. He just squirmed a little every now and then and as soon as the two anbu stepped through the door, he looked up at Kyosuke with emotionless eyes and then let his head droop once again. That look along left Kyosuke's mind racing. _Should I stop them? But, I barely even remember what happened. Should I? But...I don't want him to be tortured, he didn't really do anything wrong himself, I think.  
  
    _Kyosuke took and deep breath and rethought what he wad about to do. He then took off, running out the door and quickly met up with Naruto and his anbu. "Wait!" He yelled as he blocked their path. "I changed my mind, I'll-" _Wait, no!_ He thought again. _Should I do this, will this even make a difference?_ Naruto stared at him with a bored expression and sighed. "What is it, Kyosuke? I haven't got all day, you know." Kyosuke shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "I'll take him in and see what I can do." Naruto smiled briefly before nodding to the two anbu who then cut the rope that tied his hands together. _Well, if the kid actually_ was _a threat to anyone, they probably would have used something stronger, I guess.  
  
    _"Alright, Nakamura. You better get all that you can from him, I'm counting on you." That was all he said before he walked away with his anbu in tow and large crowds parting to let him through. Kyosuke sighed, and stared at the him until he disappeared into the crowd. "Well then, why don't we-" He started as he turned to face the boy. But, he had already stood up and was halfway up the stairs to Hina's house. Kyosuke shook his head a little and walked back to the house as well. _What did I just get myself into?_


	14. Kyosuke

    Kyosuke found the boy laying on the couch when he came back inside. From a distance, it looked as though he was sleeping, but he noticed that his eyes were wide open as walked closer. The boy was on his back, his eyes glued to the ceiling with his face in an emotionless expression. As blank as an unused canvas.  
  
    "So, um, you had all of that time to run away," Kyosuke started slowly. "Why did you come back inside?" The boy shifted and turned towards him, his red eyes full of sadness and regret. "What's the point in doing that? You'd just catch me anyway, they'd just catch me anyway," he replied. "I have no useful powers, I can't do anything. I'm a, what did they call me?"  
  
    "A _peke_ ," Kyosuke replied. "A 'no good'. That can't be true, you must have something. I mean, you hang out with, with, _those_ guys. If you were useless, they wouldn't have let you on their team." The boy looked at Kyosuke with a skeptical expression, he eyed carefully before turned back around and wrapping his arms around himself. "Amateur medical talent, that's the only thing I have and it's still pretty useless. If it wasn't for my sister, I would have been dead and lying somewhere deep in that forest." Kyosuke stood there and watched as the boy shook his head, and laid flat on his stomach. "I can't fight," the boy muttered.  
  
    The room was silent for a while, Kyosuke couldn't think of anything to say. The room got a little darker and then the light returned again. Kysouke clenched his fists and walked over to the couch. He stared down at the boy, and noticed that he had fallen asleep. His breathing was light and his facial features relaxed. Not one part of him looked as if he was alert, usually people like him would be, and they would also sleep lightly. But, this boy didn't seem to care one bit.  
  
    "Man, it's like my brain wants to remember you, but something isn't allowing me to," Kyosuke said to himself as he flicked a strand of hair from the boy's face. _Who_ are _you?_  Kyosuke studied his face for a while before reaching out to the boy and turning him over on his back. He then began to search his pockets, in which he strangely had a lot of. _Lot's of normal pockets, but no place to store actual weapons. You were_ definitely _sent out there on purpose. They wanted you to act as a distraction._ Kyosuke snorted, _sending out the weakest one to get them off of your scent. Oh wow.  
  
    _After a long two minutes of searching, Kyosuke found nothing. Every pocket was empty and, as far as he knew, the boy carried nothing that could possibly be important. That's when Kyosuke looked down and noticed that the kid's left hand was clutched tightly while his right laid palm up. He squinted and picked up his left arm. The boy's pale fingers were curled tightly around the object and Kyosuke had a hard time prying his hand open before his fingers loosened and his hand opened with ease.  
  
    In the middle of his palm was a silver, oval-shaped, locket with a weirdly shaped lotus blossom with strange romaji symbols around it that were too small for Kyosuke to make out. He picked up the locket and closed the boy's hand again. The metal felt unusually cold against his skin. Kyosuke took another look at the locket's cover before opening it. He expected to find a picture of a loved one inside of it, but was surprised to see the white backing of what he presumed was a picture.  
  
     He tried prying the inside open, just so he could see what the picture was until a soft voice spoke from behind him. "Wow, you just love getting into people's business don't you?" Kyosuke jumped and quickly spun around. The boy was wide awake and laying on his back with his hands folded over his stomach. A playful smile appearing on his face as he glanced at his locket for a second before letting his eyes meet Kyosuke.  
  
    "And now that you've seen what a real life locket looks like, may I have it back now?" He asked while sitting up. Kyosuke found the urge to move again and squeezed the necklace in his hand. His palm stung as the hoop of the locket dug into his hand. "I will, once you answer a couple questions I have," he stated clearly, his voice full of authority. The boy looked taken back by this, his smile fading for a moment and then coming back again. "Fine, I guess I could," he said dramatically before flopping back on the couch with the back of his right hand on his forehead.  
  
    Kyosuke nodded curtly before taking a spare chair from another room and carrying it to the living room. There, he put the chair right across from the kid and sat down in it. "Aren't you going to get a notebook or something?" The kid asked boredly His smile had disappeared and in its place was a nonchalant expression. Kyosuke shook his head almost immediately. "I have a fairly good memory," he said matter-of-factly.  
  
    Kyosuke heard the boy grumble something under his breath but he decided to shake it off. "What's your name?" The boy sat up and looked at Kyosuke with a confused expression. "What do you mean? How did you forget my name already?" He asked quietly, his eyes seemed to be searching Kyosuke's face for something. "I'm not lying," Kyosuke replied. "I really want to know your name, but for some reason, I can't. I'm not even capable of remembering what happened in that strange underground place."  
  
    "U-underground?" The boy whispered before looking away quickly. It was almost as if he wasn't supposed to say that. "Makoto, that's my name." Kyosuke nodded, _Makoto... Try not to forget that._ "Alright, moving on. Why were you alone in the forest? Did they send you out there as a distraction?" Makoto smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Wow, you're really getting into this stuff, aren't you?" He asked meekly.  
  
    "Just answer the question," Kyosuke demanded. "Or I can send you back to the Hokage. Don't forget that I basically saved your ass from hours of torture." Makoto's face became as red as his eyes and he began to sputter. "I...I really can't tell you, I don't even now why I was out there either. Aijin Naoko said-" He slapped a hand over his mouth and quickly got up from the couch. "Aijin Naoko? Who's that?" Kyosuke asked suspiciously as Makoto slowly backed away from him.  
  
    "N-nothing! Forget I said that, it's nothing important!" Makoto stuttered. Kyosuke got up from his chair and began walking towards Makoto. He made sure that each step he took was slow and dramatic. "Not important, huh?" Kysouke said. "Well, if it isn't important, why can't you tell me?"  
  
    Makoto blushed even harder and almost tripped on the rug. "B-because...because it's personal! Yeah!" He replied, his voice higher than normal. Kyosuke stopped walking and crossed his arms. He knew that the boy wasn't good at keeping secrets. His face, his movements, and the way he spoke with a voice filled with fright was a clear indication that he was about to let everything spill out.  
  
    "Makoto, I will ask you this again. Who is Aijin Naoko?" Kyosuke's gaze hardened, he watched Makoto's every move carefully. "Answer the question, Makoto."  
  
    Before Kyosuke could even blink, Makoto was already up the stairs and inside of a room with the door shut. Kysouke made a choking sound and hurried up the stairs, too. _Man, this kid is fast!_ Kyosuke thought as he reached the top and walked over to the only door that was fully shut. He knocked on it softly. "Makoto, you need to come out." A brief rustling was heard and then everything went silent.  
  
    "I don't want to answer your questions," he whined. "I promised not to say a word or else they'd kill me!" Kyosuke squinted at the door and put one ear against it. He heard Makoto's heavy breathing, but it wasn't close by. So, he must have been yelling from across the room.  
  
    "I thought you said that you had no idea how you ended up outside of your little bunker," he replied, putting one hand on the doorknob. "Don't try anything! I locked it!" Makoto yelled gleefully as if he knew what Kyosuke was doing. "And they told me that just in case I ended up in a situation like this."  
  
    Everything went silent again, and Kyosuke had to strain to see if he was saying anything. Finally, Makoto spoke up. "My sister will probably be able to come get me..." A loud sobbing sound caught Kyosuke by surprise and he pounded on the door. "Makoto! Makoto! Open up!"  
  
    More rustling was heard before the door was slowly being pulled open by a puffy-eyed Makoto with messy hair. He looked up at Kyosuke, grimaced, and then turned to sit down on the bed. "Who am I kidding? My sister won't come to get me, she'll forget that I even exist. I hate her so much!" Kyosuke walked over to the bed and sat down next to Makoto. He looked at the sobbing boy for a while before looking down at his feet.  
  
    "And...why do you hate her?" He asked, trying to sound innocent. Makoto sniffed and shook his head, his hair was covering most of his face. "She always wants to be the best and she barely ever bats an eye at me. I know this sounds childish but I always looked up to her ever since my parents...well, I always looked up to her. But, she never really cared about me. She'd save me from danger sometimes, but that would only be to make herself look stronger. Since Ikari's kekkei genkai was different from our clan's she also thought that she was unique - better.  
  
    "So, she began acting as if she was. She kept calling herself  _Ōjo,_ and demanded that her siblings used royal honorifics when referring to her. She was a demon back then. I can't even count the number of times I was tortured by her."  
  
    Kyosuke leaned in, listening to every word. At the rate the boy was going, he could get out everything Kyosuke needed to know about him and his little organization. "What was the name of her kekkei genkai?" Kyosuke asked. Makoto looked at him as if he was crazy. "You're actually listening to my stupid little sob story?"  
  
    "Yeah, it's actually very interesting. So, what was it called?" He replied quickly, he then positioned himself on the bed so that he was fully facing Makoto. "It's called Solar Release, it's actually a really hard technique to master. I mean, Ikari was able to control some part of it when she was little, but it took her years of training to actually get it. My clan is mostly Earth Release with a few people who have Crystal Release, but we have never heard of Solar."  
  
    "So, upon hearing the name, I'm guessing this power is very destructive?" Makoto nodded and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Yes, very. She's able to control temperatures and such and from what I heard, she's able to boil people alive."  
  
    Kyosuke cocked his head a little. _"Boil?"_ He asked, bewildered. An image popped up in his head of Ikari using her hand to open the door to the weird lab. He also remembered when he saw puffs of steam coming from her pitch black hair. "Yeah, I'm the only one who has never seen her use her power to it's fullest potential, and I have heard that it's something that you don't want to be on the receiving end of."  
  
    "But, you've seen her use her power, right?" Kyosuke asked, he felt as if he was getting even more engaged into Makoto's story. "Of course, I have! Didn't you hear me say that I have never seen her use it to it's fullest potential? That doesn't mean that I haven't seen her use it _at all!"_ Kyosuke chuckled and nodded in response. "Okay, got it. So, would you mind telling me about the people you're working with?" Makoto looked at Kyosuke for a while before letting out a loud sigh.  
  
    "You know what? Yeah, I will! I'm tired of being pushed around by Ikari all of the time, so this will be my way of breaking free from her fiery prison." Kyosuke cheered happily in his head, but decided to keep his face straight in case he changed his mind. "For one, that little underground bunker thing you saw wasn't real at all. You were just stuck in a really strong genjutsu trap. So, that's why I look a little different."  
  
    "And the hospital?"  
  
    "That was also a genjutsu trap, it was made to make you think otherwise about what you thought before."  
  
    "What?"  
  
    Makoto sighed. "Nevermind, moving on. The man you saw in the black goo was Aijin Naoko's husband. My boss for short." Kyosuke gasped and stared at Makoto in surprise. "So-"  
  
    "Yes, this whole organization is run by a married couple who actually has an extended family that still exists today. I forgot what the clan is called, though." Kyosuke nodded urging Makoto to go on. "I was actually apart of the medical unit with a whole group of people. Oh and by the way, the man you saw in that second vision was the leader of the medical division. Since, I'm also not that skilled in medical practice, they never tell me what they're projects are."  
      
    Kyosuke's mind traveled back to the note that Makoto had left for him when he escaped. "So, what was that note about, huh? The whole 'they escaped' thing? And yet you say that you have no idea what the medical division is currently working on." Makoto looked confused, so Kyosuke went to the guest room and found the note that he was left with in the forest. He then came back and shoved it in Makoto's face.  
  
    Makoto took the note from him, looked at it, and then crumbled it up. "That's Saku's handwriting - he's the medical leader - why would he put _my_ name on it?"  
  
    "I don't know, but it's sort of weird. Apparently I let something escape while I was supposedly going crazy from that medicine you gave me." Makoto snorted loudly. "Supposedly, Kyosuke, you were a _monster_ after you were given that medicine. I didn't know you had _that_ much power."  
  
    "Wait, so the part where you gave me that medicine, _that_ was real?" Makoto nodded energetically. "Yeah, but can we please continue this later. If you haven't noticed, I'm still a little shaken up about being left in that forest by myself." Kysouke nodded and got up fro the bed. He quickly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. As he though about what Makoto had told him, some of it made sense while the other part still had the mechanics in his brain work overtime.  
  
    He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He looked back a the closed door for a brief moment before going back downstairs. He had a lot of investigating to do.


	15. Peorth

    She woke up sitting in a blindingly white room with her wrists and ankles strapped tightly to a metal chair. She couldn't remember anything that happened before she got there and it was already hard focus with her mind filled with questions that she might not be able to find answers to.  
  
    A large metal door opened in front of her and a tall girl with black hair walked in with two burly men behind her. "Oh, well look who decided to wake up!" She said cheerfully. The two men behind her didn't make a sound and didn't move a muscle either. "Why am I here? What do you want from me?" Peorth asked, her voice cracking. The girl studied her face for a while, her blood red eyes slowly taking in every part.  
  
    "What do we want from you?" The girl sighed. "We saw you leaving the Konohagakure village, which was the same place another man escaped to. So, the reason why you're here is because we thought you might have some information on the whereabouts of this person." Peorth looked at the girl skeptically, she wanted to say something to her, but decided to keep quiet.  
  
    "So, do you know a certain someone by the name of- Um..." The girl said as she looked back at the two bodyguards with a confused look on her face. "Kyosuke Nakamura," the left bodyguard said, finishing for her. Peorth's heart skipped a beat and she felt as if she was going to pass out. "K-Kyosuke?" She stuttered breathlessly. She began to feel her heart thump in her fingers.  
  
    The girl smiled and put both of her hands on her hips. "Looks like you do know him! Now, where is he?" She asked, leaning forward. Peorth glared straight into the girl's eyes, letting her know that she wasn't going to answer. The girl stepped back finally with a slightly annoyed look on her face. "Looks like we have a mute one, boys. I think we should call him in," she told the two guards. The both looked at each other nonchalantly before simultaneously turning around and walking out.  
  
    The girl turned back to Peorth, glaring. "Who are you?" She asked the girl after a long period of silence. "Who am I? Oh! Silly me, I forgot to introduce myself!" She exclaimed with fake enthusiasm. "My name is Ikari Kojima, but to be honest, my name won't matter to you soon. In fact, none of the people here will matter to you." Peorth wanted to ask what she had meant when she said that, but the door slid open, as if on cue, and an astonishingly tall man with long black and white streaked hair walked in.  
  
    He took one look a Peorth and smiled. "Perfect, Ikari! She's simply perfect! My wife would love this!" He exclaimed while patting Ikari on the back. Ikari smirked triumphantly as she looked up at the man. "I guess I won't have to kill you after all." Her smiled faltered a little and she chuckled nervously. "Yeah, you definitely won't," she muttered as she stepped back to let the man pass.  
  
    He knelt down in front of Peorth and began to study her face. He grabbed her chin lightly and moved her head around as he stared. Peorth growled and forcefully pulled her face away. "Get your filthy hands off of me!" She barked. The man laughed, a deep, booming one that echoed. "Looks like we got ourselves a feisty one. But, it doesn't really matter anyway, she'll be gone soon enough."  
  
    "What the hell are you guys talking about?" Peorth asked, her voice expressing her fear. "You guys are going to kill me aren't you?" Ikari and the man looked at each other and laughed which surprised Peorth a little. "Oh, well yes and no," the man replied. "Yes, we will kill you but we won't kill you in the way you are thinking. We're actually going to preserve your body so that my wife, Naoko, will be able to host it soon. So, we're going to kill you, but not we're not going to harm your body."  
  
    He then turned to Ikari. "Tell Saku that she's ready." Ikari's eyes widened. "But, but sir! What about Kyosuke! You know, the guy who let all of our - I mean - _you're_ pets out?"  
  
    "He's the least of my problems now. We'll find him after the transfer, my wife's needs come first," he said lazily. Ikari bit her lip and nodded curtly before running out of the room. "You cant do this to me," Peorth said as she tried her hardest to move her wrists. But, the were still tied tightly to to arms of the chair.  
  
    "I can and I will. You can't do anything about it either because I can obliterate you myself. But, again, my wife's needs come first," he said before pinching a nerve on the back of Peorth's neck and everything faded.


	16. Shino

    This was probably the first time he had ever agreed with Hina. If there was a time before this one where he also agreed with her, he probably forgot about that. The plan was pretty simple really, Hina and Taken Ohshi would fight them while Shino and Kira would keep their guard down. But, Kira and Shino would also have to weaken them and find out what would make them easier to fight.  
  
    "Alright Kira, let's go," he said before jumping out. The three robots noticed his presence and they all turned to face him, their eyes seemed brighter than before. The smell of amber got stronger and Shino immediately noticed that Kira was nearby. "Uh, you ready, Kira?" He asked, his voice shaking slightly. Why was he acting like this all of a sudden? Was there something wrong with him?  
  
    "Yeah, and I'm guessing that you're pretty nervous. I mean, hearing your voice and all." Shino nodded and focused on the robots in front of him. There just had to be some way for them to defeat those metal monsters. "Did you find out any good flaws?" Shino asked. He looked at the girl and noticed that she was glaring at the three particularly hard. "We'd have to try splitting them up. Take them all down at the same time, as far as I know, that's the only way."  
  
     The three robots began walking towards them slowly, their large feet making the ground vibrate as they took each step together. Immediately Shino found a rather large flaw in Hina's plan. They weren't skilled enough for the two of them to beat three robots together. From fighting one of them, Shino already figured out that one robot had skills that were a little above his level.  
  
    So, the two of them versus those three was still going to be too much for them. If Hina thought that through a little more, then she would have known that it wouldn't take long for both him and Kira to be beaten down. The robots stopped about fifteen feet away and patiently waited for their next move. Shino bit his lip and shook his head furiously. "We can't do this alone, we have to go Kira." He grabbed the girl's arm and ran back to the bushes.  
  
    "What the hell are you doing, Shino? Why didn't you fight them?" Shino took a deep breath and let it go slowly. His heart picked up speed a little bit and a weird tingle ran throughout his body, but he didn't really feel scared. More like, jittery at the most.  
  
    "Kira and I don't have what it takes to fight them on our own," he said simply. He felt someone grab his arm and he turned to see Kira staring intensely into his eyes. "What do you mean? You think that I'm not strong enough?" Shino pulled his arm away gently and stared back at Kira. "I didn't mean it like that, what I meant was that we're still young. We don't know as much so we can't defeat them as easily as we want to. In fact, I don't even now why-"  
  
    "Can you two stop your little - your little - romantic... _thing_ going on over there and fill me in on this?" She said as if it was something so disgusting that it was hard for her to get out. Shino sighed and turned around to face Hina and Taken Ohshi. "Your plan is flawed, Hina. We can't split up because these robots are too powerful for the both of us to handle," he explained quickly. "Plus, if we all went out to fight them, it would look like we didn't plan a thing. Don't forget that we are still being watched by our sensei - God knows where she is - so we still need to look like we actually came up with something."  
  
    Taken Ohshi and Hina nodded and they both got up quickly. "Wait, what are you two doing?" Kira asked the two of them. "Didn't you here what Shino told you?" Hina glared down at Kira, a very visible frown on her face. "Yes, we clearly heard him. But, we can't just stand around and do nothing. We're all going to clear this test and we're all going to do this together. Don't forget that."  
  
    A loud crash interrupted them and Shino quickly stood up to see that all three mechas had fallen to the floor, their mechanical limbs tangled with each others. "Well, looks like I wouldn't need those anymore," a girl's voice said from behind them. Shino and the rest of them turned to see their sensei standing on a particularly thick branch above their heads. "Oh, and as for introductions, my name is Sayomi and you all pass."  
  
    Shino stared at the woman as if she were crazy, it was way too good to be true. "That doesn't make any sense, we never won that fight with those robots. You can't just do that, it's not fair," he yelled up at her. Sayomi smiled sweetly and jumped down from her spot. "Yes, I know that Uchiha. But, your sense of observance and teamwork has intrigued me. Even if _some_ of you -" Sayomi took a quick glance at Hina - "Are a little bit sour. But, I'll overlook that."  
  
    Taken Ohshi stepped in front of Shino and looked directly at Sayomi. "Um, I think I'm going to agree with Shino on this one. This isn't really, um, _fair_. I mean, we didn't really do anything and yet you still accept us? That's a bi-"  
  
    "Look, it's either you accept that you're being accepted or I could just fail you right now," Sayomi interrupted boredly. Shino looked at the three of them, each of them looking at him with the same expression. The one that told him exactly what he was thinking. He knew that he couldn't accept this, but he also couldn't let himself fail like that. So, what he was about to say next was going to be pretty obvious for all of them.  
  
    "Thank you for passing us, we look forward to working with you," he stated as if he previously rehearsed. Sayomi nodded and crossed her arms with finality. "Now, we'll meet up tomorrow at these gates. Not inside, the gates. Remember tha," she said before walking away. "You're all dismissed."  
  
    Shino heard Hina huff and the sound of the leaves crunching getting farther away signalled that she had left. Taken Ohshi turned back to the two of them and smiled. "Well, I guess this is it," he sighed. "I'll see you both tomorrow then." He then walked off in the same direction that Hina went. "Well, you don't look as happy as I thought you'd be," Shino heard Kira beside him. "I mean, you just got accepted by our sensei..."  
  
    Shino knew what she was doing, she was trying to get his feelings out of him. But, Shino wasn't going to let her do that. "Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore. Now all we have to do is do well from now on." Before Kira could reply, he had already run off and left the training grounds. _This isn't fair but I'll let it slide, this isn't fair but I'll let it slide, this isn't-  
  
    "Aijin, it'll soon be time for the operation, we just wanted to let you know." A light chuckle was heard. "Oh! Good, that's very good. But, there's something that I want to change." The man cleared his throat nervously. "And - um - what change would that be, my dear Aijin?"  
  
    "I want to keep the girl's body, but I also want to keep the girl. I mean, not for_her _technically, but Ikari gave me a fill in on the interview and it seems that she's interested in that Kyosuke guy. And well, he seemed very interesting, so we'll just use her to-"  
  
   _Shino opened his eyes and gasped loudly. A small crowd was gathered around him, every one of them murmuring to each other and staring at him as if he was going to attack them. Shino groaned and put his head in his hands. _Why is this happening to me?_


	17. Hina

    Her heart was pounding hard in her chest when she came through the door that afternoon. _That little witch! Why is she doing this to me! And after I helped her out that day!_ She stomped her way upstairs and went into her bedroom. "Why, why, why!" She yelled out loud in rage. "Um, hi?" A foreign voice greeted from across the room.  
  
    Hina looked up to see a boy with long, pink hair standing awkwardly across the room with a scroll clutched tightly in his hands. "Who the hell are you?" She cried out loudly as she began backing away towards her bedroom door. "Well, I - um - I'm Makoto and you must be that Hina girl that Kyosuke told me about." Hina looked at Makoto suspiciously, sizing him up quietly as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.  
  
    "Oh, Kyosuke, huh? Well, that's just- _KYOSUKE!"_ Hina yelled into the hallway. "Kyosuke! Kyosuke! Kysouke!" Hina quickly ran out into the hallway and stomped over to Kyosuke's room. She knocked n the door gingerly and waited until she heard a quick shuffling and Kyosuke opened the door. "Oh, hey Hin-"

    "Who the hell is this Makoto person and why is he in my bedroom looking through my stuff?" Kyosuke looked at Hina as if he didn't know what she was talking about at first until his eyes widened and his mouth formed a small 'o'. "Yeah, you met Makoto..." He muttered, more to himself than Hina. "He's just a part of this thing that the Hokage told me to do. Plus, I'll be moving out soon so I guess I won't be in your way anymore either."

    _Moving out? Why would he be...?_ "You found another place to stay?" Hina asked skeptically, she crossed her arms and looked up at the boy. "Well, not really. You see-" Hina heard Makoto walk out of the room and she turned around to meet his eyes. "And I'm guessing you'll be staying here, too?" She asked him. "Oh, no he'll be-" Kyosuke answered for him but he stopped mid-sentence. "I guess he'll be staying with me while I get this thing sorted out."

    "Yeah, yeah I think that's what will be happening," Makoto said nervously, and he quickly turned away and went into the guest room across the hall from Hina's room. Hina sighed and sat on Kyosuke's bed. "So, how'd the test go?" Kysouke asked as he walked over and sat next to Hina.

    She felt her stomach turn as soon as she heard the words come from his mouth. She didn't even want to relive that moment with Kira and Shino while behind that bush. It was just too overwhelming for her, but she decided to tell him anyway since he asked. "To be honest, it wasn't really what I was expecting at all."

    Kyosuke nodded and leaned back, "And what do you mean by that?" Hina sighed and got up from the bed, all of a sudden she didn't really feel like sitting down. Her stomach tossed and turned and she felt as if she was going to hurl. "Oh, nothing, it's just that K- Sensei made us fight some crazy strong robots, that's all." Kyosuke nodded and looked down at his feet for a second. "Is that really all, Hina? It doesn't sound like it to me." Hina winced and nodded slowly, she wasn't going to let him cough up what she was actually thinking.

    "You know what? How about you tell me about this whole Makoto thing going on. Since you're so into my life and all." Kyosuke chuckled and laid down on the bed. "Well, my wife is gone and I'm stuck here interrogating a fifteen-year-old kid who works for some secret organization that nobody can find," Kyosuke explained as if everything was normal. "And if they do happen to find it, they won't be able to tell anybody where it is because they're probably dead at that point."

    Hina stepped towards the bed and looked down at Kyosuke's face. His eyes were closed and there was a smile on his face that looked as if he saw heaven for the first time. "Well, if you're interrogating that boy, did you at least get anything out of him? Do you also mind telling me about this 'secret organization'?"

    "You mean the place that I came from?" Makoto asked from the door. "Yeah, it sounds pretty interesting. What do they do?" She looked over at Kyosuke who still laid there motionless on the bed, but she could already tell that he had fallen asleep. "How about we take this to my room? His day was probably more stressful than mine." She stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her.

    She then followed Makoto back into her own bedroom, she decided to keep the door open. They both sat on the bed and faced each other. "Okay, so for starters, my name is Hina Himura and you are?"

    "Makoto Kojima. So, what do you want to talk about?" Hina smiled at the boy and leaned back on her hands. "Wow, usually someone who comes from some secret organization wouldn't be so, well, open." Makoto nodded, part of his smile fading which left him with a sad smirk. "Yeah, well I'm done with that place now. To be honest, I don't think they've ever treated me like I was part of their team," he replied sullenly. "Man, even my own sister ditched me. But, she has never really acted as if I was her actual brother."

    "So, all of those emotions boiled inside of you until you just spilled over?" Hina asked, having no idea where that question came from. Makoto looked at her with a bewildered expression at first, but he seemed to shake it off and the sad smirk was back on. "Well, I guess you could say that. I mean, I knew that I wasn't cut out for that kind of stuff anyway, but I did it for my sister. She's the one who dragged me into this after she- she-"

    Hina noticed that Makoto had choked up and she could see the tears brimming his eyes. "You know, um, you really don't have to go on," Hina offered in an attempt to stop him from crying. But, he cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. "She's the one who dragged me into this after she killed our who clan. Years and years of practicing her kekkei genkai in secret and one day she just pulled me out of the way and burned the place down with everyone in it.

    I was about ten at the time and my sister was my current age. The burning homes, the screams of pain, I still remember it all. It's hard to forget something that impacted you that much, you know? And all she did was stare and smile, she smiled through it all, even at the sight of my father's charred body laying on the ground right in front of our house."

    Hina nodded solemnly, "I'm sure you missed your family and your clan, right?" Makoto's head snapped up and he stared at her with an unreadable expression. "Oh, heaven's no! I _hated_ my whole clan with a passion! But, I never wished to see them dead."

    "Wait, what?" Hina exclaimed. "You hated your family and yet you talk about them as if you really love them? And why did your sister save you if she hated you, too?" Makoto laughed, but not loud enough to wake up Kyosuke. "It's a long story that I really don't feel like getting into it. But, my sister saved me because she said that I was only a little bit more tolerable than the others. It was one of the sweetest things she has ever said to me."

    "Dude, your sister has issues..." Hina murmured. Makoto smiled, a full one this time. "Yeah, I always knew that she was a little off. But, I guess it was good that I never said anything, you know? Anyway, can I tell you something? It's about Kyosuke." Hina's eyes widened and she leaned forward quickly. "Promise me you won't tell him that I told you this?" He asked her, looking at her directly.

    Hina nodded, "I promise, I promise. Now tell me, I bet it'll be so cool!" Makoto gave her a weird look before leaning in and whispering in her ear, loud enough for her to hear but quiet enough for him not to be heard. Hina's eyes widened and she slowly straightened up, she looked at Makoto with disbelief and put her fingers to her temples.

    "Whoa..."


	18. Hina

    After a long night of pondering and cursing out Kira and Shino, Hina woke up to an envelope laying on her dresser. It wasn't particularly fancy looking, but she automatically knew where it came from. As she opened it excitedly, loudly hoping for a hard task, she was quickly disappointed as she read the content.  
  
    _Dear Hina,_ it stated, _Today's mission will be an D rank. Don't fuss over it because I will not be bumping us up. We will be helping out in a bakery with a couple who really needs us. This task will be all day and if you do this task correctly and obediently, you will be bumped up. But, don't think that it will be a C, it's just a higher ranking of a D. So don't get your hopes up. The bakery is on the other side of town and I expect you to be there by noon.  
  
   _Hina sighed and stuffed the paper back into the envelope. She actually was hoping that she would persuade the Hokage and have her team go to a C rank or even higher, but since that has already happened before, of course they weren't going to let that kind of thing happen again.  
  
    _Noon, huh?_ Hina groaned and glanced at the clock that sat beside her bed. It was already close to eleven. _Well, time to get over or else I don't know what they'd do to me.  
  
  
  
   _Hina huffed and stopped at the front gates of the bakery. Her team was already standing at the front looking at her weirdly and when she looked on the other side of the field, two other teams stood there waiting with their senseis. `"What's going on here?" She asked Taken Ohshi as when she finally joined her team. He shrugged and continued to look at the two teams. "I guess it's some kind of competition or something. Kind of weird if you ask me."  
  
    "A competition? A freaking competition as our first task?" Hina couldn't contain her joy. "Man, and I thought that this first mission was going to be boring as hell but I guess I was wrong!" The three looked at Hina as if she had lost it, but she paid them no mind. There was finally something fun going on and she definitely was going to make the most of it.  
  
    "Alright guys," Shino whispered, motioning for them to come closer to him. "Since this is clearly some kind of competition that might test something, I suggest that we do what we did yesterday." Taken Ohshi looked at him with a confused expression. "You mean, hide behind something until the competition is over?" Shino sighed and shook his head furiously, "No, no, no! I mean we should use teamwork to beat them. Things go much faster of we work together, as a _team._ " He took that moment to let his eyes land on Kira briefly before they traveled to everyone else. "You guys got it?"  
  
    Hina scoffed and pulled away from the circle. "That's it? _Teamwork?_ Is that the only way we could win?" She asked, mockingly. "Seriously, Hina? We can't cheat, I mean, they might have people watching us! Like, like the couple who run this place!" Taken Ohshi whisper shouted. "Or me..." A familiar voice stated from behind Hina. She turned around to meet the eyes of Kyosuke in what Hina recognized as a Jounin uniform with that weird orange belt-like cloth that Kyosuke seemed to wear all the time.  
  
    "Kyosuke?!" Hina exclaimed looking at him from head to toe. He looked a lot younger for some reason and it was Hina's first time seeing such a playful grin on his face. "Why the hell are _you_ here?" Kyosuke acted as if he was shocked. "What? You guys didn't know?" He asked with a fake dramatic voice. "I'm judging this competition, the Hokage asked me to. Plus, I _really_ needed to get out of that house. I swear I felt like the walls were closing in on me." Hina rolled her eyes, even though she sort of liked the new upbeat attitude Kyosuke had, it was also making her a little uncomfortable.  
  
    "Oh! Kyosuke! We did that fight with you in Hina backyard. Man, you were awesome!" Taken Ohshi exclaimed excitedly. Shino nodded silently and Kira just looked at her black boots, not a sound came out of her.  
  
    "Well, well, well! You guys are all fairly early!" Sayomi said as she walked up to the five. "Either that or I'm fairly late."  
  
    "You're late!" They all answered for her and Sayomi's smile widened. "Oh my, I suppose I am. Well, whatever, let's just get this competition started. As you all know, You guys will be competing against teams One and Two." She paused for a second before chuckling to herself. "Oh wow, Team Twelve going against Teams One and Two! Who would have thought?" Hina definitely got the joke, but it wasn't funny at all. In fact, she didn't even know why Sayomi was chuckling in the first place.  
  
    "Alright, you guys are doing the building portion of the competition first. Which means that you guys will go head to head and see which team will make, bake, and build the most cakes. Oh, and did I mention that you all will be doing cakes?   
  
    "Oh well, anyway, the next portion will be packaging, meaning you guys will wrap up the cakes in different colored wrapping paper and decorations. You will compete to see which team makes the most appealing box decorations. And for the last part, you guys will deliver the cakes to their proper houses. The team who does that the fastest will win the whole competition," Sayomi explained quickly. Hina stared at her intensely, just waiting for her to say that she was only kidding. But, unfortunately, she never did.  
  
    "You have got to be kidding me! We're basically running the whole damn bakery then! I thought you said that we were going to _help_ these people? As in, do some fo the work, but not everything. What's the learning purpose of this whole activity?"  
  
    "It's to help you all work as a team and it tests how well you guys can carry out certain tasks under a certain time limit. It also tests how well you guys can perform while under pressure," Kyosuke answered  as if he was waiting for one of them to say that. "Well then, how about you guys go over and wish the other team luck, hm?" Hina grumbled to herself and trudged across the lawn to Team One.  
  
    They were all huddled around their sensei and they all dispersed once Hina came near. "Hey, guys!" Hina greeted lazily. "I just wanted to wish you all luck and stuff, you know." A boy with rusty brown hair smiled warmly at her. "Thanks, Hina. We all wish you luck too." Hina nodded back but couldn't help but notice how the boy looked at her. It was as if he wasn't really looking _at_ her but _through_ her. "Wait, I never really got to know you. What's your name?" She suddenly asked him, she had no idea why she did that all of a sudden.  
  
    "It's alright, and my name's Cantus. Not to be rude or anything, but I never expected you to know my name." Hina smirked and walked off, she greeted other people on the two teams as well. She even greeted the senseis, Sono and Amon. She tried to look happy and positive but inside she was ready to take them all down. And she could tell that a lot of them were thinking the same thing, but they also decided not to say it.  
  
    When Sayomi called everyone back to their spot, Hina was already pumped up and full of energy that she hadn't felt in a while. "Alright, guys!" Sayomi announced as she walked to the middle of the field. "The competition will start in three, two, one, now!" Everyone took off running for the doors. As Hina ran, she felt more alive than she had ever felt before. Even though it was basically an A ranked mission, she was going to do her best and show that nobody was going to mess with Hina.  
  
    As everyone ran inside, the sweet smell of sugar and pastries greeted Hina. She took a deep breath and smiled, nothing was going to get in her way.


	19. Taken Ohshi

    _Baking? Of all the things we could have competed in it just had to be a baking competition!_ Taken Ohshi thought as he slipped on his apron. Everyone was told to wear one for what they explained as "reasons". But, that wasn't even a lingering problem for him because he was too busy trying to calm his pounding heart. "Alright, everyone! You all have a limited amount of time to finish ten cakes before it's time to move on to the next round," Kyosuke announced, his voice echoing around the room. As Taken Ohshi looked around, he saw that the bakery was ten times bigger than what he imagined. The walls were a bright white color that made his eyes hurt if he stared long enough and the floor was metal so shiny that he felt as though he was standing on a mirror as soon as he walked inside. The ceiling was incredibly high and the room was in a weird semi-circle shape. The groups were spread apart on different parts of the room with their own work tables and kitchen necessities.   
  
    "Each group was given ten recipes to make each of the cakes. You are not permitted to add anything extra to the cakes or switch recipes with a group or else that will result in an immediate disqualification. Now, all of you get into position, ready, and _begin!_ " Kyosuke yelled and everyone hurried to look at the recipe book that was being held by a silver stand. As Taken flipped through the different recipes, he felt a wave of uncertainty fall over him. Each cake had surprisingly specific directions and every cake had a certain type of decoration that only a master cake maker could accomplish with ease. “Man, I don't know about this guys, these cakes seem really...difficult," he said as he turned towards his team who were hurrying around the work area, grabbing the different baking supplies. Hina stopped what she had been doing and glared at Taken, he could almost feel her piercing onyx eyes burn holes into his face.  
  
     “Kid," she said calmly, which only made Taken flinch. “It would be better for this whole team if you actually stopped whining for once and helped us!" She then turned back to the cupboards and continued to look for more cake pans. After letting that sink in for a moment, Taken Ohshi turned back around only to see Kyosuke looking their way with his eyebrow raised, and then turning away to observe another team's progress. Ohshi sighed and looked down at the recipe book, _Apple Cinnamon Swirl,_ he read to himself. He had to admit that it did sound pretty good, and the picture did look as if anyone could make it, but the directions proved to be quite bizarre.  
  
     Everywhere he looked, each task had to be done a certain way or else the cake might come out slightly...wrong, or whatever that even meant. So, without making anymore complaints, Taken went to the refrigerator and took out all of the required ingredients. He then went to work on the cake. As the book said, he had to crack the eggs with the stamped side facing the ceiling and then have the eggs go into each side of the cake pan. He then had to pour half of a cup of milk and molasses into the pan but only pour it in about two inches over the rim. _Why the hell does it even matter?_ After a couple minutes passed, Taken Ohshi looked up to see how his teammates were doing. Each of them were tackling their own cake, something that somehow got established on its own, and each were looking equally annoyed at how strange the directions were.  
  
    After what seemed like forever, Taken Ohshi poured the batter into the cake pan and put it in the oven. "About time, Ohshi. We thought you'd never finish," Shino said from behind his back. "What do you mean-" Taken Ohshi asked when he turned to face them but then stopped when he noticed that each of them had finish two cakes and had already put them in the oven. "How did you guys finish?" Taken Ohshi asked as each of them looked in the book and tore out another recipe page. “Well, while you were busy daydreaming, we still remembered that we were competing with other people," Hina said as she motioned towards the other tables with people putting their cakes in.  
  
     Taken groaned loudly, this was going to be the end of him...  
  
     When about four or five hours passed, a loud bell echoed throughout the kitchen, signaling the end of first contest. Everyone stepped back from their cakes, which were all baked and iced just as how the book had instructed them. “Alright kiddos! It looks like you all finished your cakes before the bell rang, so nobody gets disqualified," Sayomi announced as everyone sighed in relief. “But we've been looking around and we noticed that teams one and two had decorated their cakes almost exactly like the book had instructed, so Team Two gets twelve points, Team One gets ten and Team Twelve gets eight." Taken Ohshi grimaced at the low score, but he wasn't going to let it affect him. They still had the boxing and the delivery, which meant that they had time to get a lot of points.  
  
     “So, why don't you all just take a quick break?" Everyone cheered and hurried to talk to people from the other teams. However, Taken Ohshi stayed back to look at their cakes. The apple cinnamon one he made had white fondant with silver lining the bottom and icy blue frost details all over it.  
  
     It definitely looked better than all of the other cakes he had decorated, but it proved to be one of the hardest. He could also see why they got such a low score, on some cakes they had to substitute some of the colored icing with plain white icing that they had to make themselves because of a little incident between Hina and Taken Ohshi that ended with the tubes empty and the icing all over the floor and counter.  
  
     _Hina's right, I do whine too much... Why am I always like this? I knew I was just a nuisance to those three, even though Kira doesn't really say that much..._ "You alright there, Ohshi?" Kyosuke asked suddenly from behind Taken. He jumped in surprise and quickly turned around to see that Kyosuke was a foot away from him with his arms crossed and a slightly concerned look on his face. "I've been watching you for a while now, you seemed pretty...out of it," he said calmly as his eyes wandered over to the kitchen area. Taken Ohshi chuckled half-heartedly, his nervousness must have been evident by others as well.  
  
    "Yeah, it was just something Hina said that just got me thinking...a lot," he replied quietly. Kyosuke nodded, Taken Ohshi could sense his eyes trained on him as he stared at his sandals. "She said that I whine a lot and I just thought that maybe I was being too much of a burden to the rest of Twelve. It's just- Ugh, never mind," Taken said in frustration. He looked up at Kyosuke who was giving him a pitiful looking smirk. _Man, this guy makes a lot of facial expressions..._ He thought as he frowned at his sandals again.  
  
    "Okay, listen Taki. I know Hina can be quite a handful at times, but that doesn't mean that you can take anything she says to heart," Kyosuke explained as he walked over to lean on the island. "If you do that, things like this-" he motioned to the mess of dried up icing all over the kitchen. "-will happen. You get what I'm saying?" Taken Ohshi nodded without saying anything. "Good, now you should talk to some people, you now? Have some time to get to know some people." He then walked away to talk to Sayomi. Taken sighed and looked up from his sandals.  
  
    Hina was arm wrestling with a girl from One, Shino was listened to some kid tell a story with a couple other people, and Kira was chatting with that Cantus kid. His eyes traveled back to Shino, his eyes stilled trained on the person talking. _I'm sure he thought I was some sort of freak... But of course, I just_ had _to make an ass out of myself in front of the cute one._ Taken Ohshi shook his head and sat on the floor. _I have to stop acting like this._ He thought as he gazed at his reflection on the floor.


	20. Taken Ohshi

    "Alright, everyone! The next portion of the competition will be to package as many cakes as you can and then deliver them to their proper destinations," Kyosuke yelled while standing in the middle of the room. Taken sighed quietly as his eyes wandered over to the rest of his team. _Please don't hate me too much if I mess up._ "So, now that you guys know about what is to come next, how about we start this already? Ready, get set, START!"  
  
    A large chunk of the middle portion of their table disappeared and out popped four well-made cakes. Behind them, a bunch of multicolored boxes with rolls of wrapping paper appeared from somewhere under the counter. "Wait! These aren't the cakes we decorated!" Someone from one of the tables exclaimed.  
  
    "Yeah! What happened to our cakes?" Another one called out. Kyosuke looked at each table with a sort of goofy smile before glancing over to the other senseis as if saying _help!_ Taken Ohshi looked down at the cake in front of him and found out that they were completely right. The cake that sat on the counter looked nothing like any of the ones they've made in the previous portion of the competition.  
  
    He then looked over at his other teammates, they were the only ones who didn't complain and quickly got to work on carefully wrapping each cake in a box. He shook his head wildly, _This is a timed contest, goddamn it!_  He scolded himself. _Don't fuck it up, please don't make him be disappointed in you... Please...  
  
     _Taken began to feel immense pressure on him before a full ten minutes passed, here he was wrapping cakes next to Shino with Hina probably judging him and the timer counting down. He didn't think he could make it, about twenty cakes were already wrapped and there were still a lot popping up from the middle of the large counter. Taken Ohshi soon felt sick to his stomach, the once sweet smells of the bakery turning into some kind of lethal poison for his stomach. However, he took a deep breath and forced himself to continue working  
  
      
    Thirty minutes had passed and Taken had lost count of how many cakes they had boxed, but he definitely knew that the line of cakes seemed to go one forever. At that point, the room began to spin and his stomach was twisted in knots and he felt as if he was being cooked in the very oven that sat behind him. He tried to swallow, but somehow his throat had gotten dry. Why was he always getting nervous like this? _No,_ he thought to himself. _This is different, this feeling... is very different.  
_  
    He stopped right after putting a cake in a sickly party box and stared down at his hands. His fingers seemed to grow and twist in every angle before his very eyes. _You can do this...you can do this. Please, for them, for...him._ He backed away from the counter and looked around the room frantically. Everything became louder and everyone looked went in and out of focus. Taken's stomach continued to churn as he clutched it with both arms.  
  
    His hand quickly covered his mouth and he swallowed his saliva as he tried to suppress the urge to regurgitate. Taken fell to the floor, all of his energy completely knocked out of him. He heard a couple shrieks and his vision began to Blur once again as his teammates crowded around him. "Taki! What's wrong?" Hina's garbled voice cried as Taken continued to stare at the floor, at his reflection. "He doesn't look too good, I don't think he's fit to go on," one of the jounins said as Taken bent over, his hands supporting half of his weight.  
  
     Taken couldn't take it anymore, his head felt as if it was spinning uncontrollably, he felt as though he was hearing things and his stomach was completely out of the question. "Taken! Please hang in there!" It was as if everything stopped completely, he couldn't hear anything and it was as if time had completely frozen.  _Sh- Shino... I'm sorry, so very sorry...  
  
     _His arms gave in and he felt himself collapse face first onto the cold metal floor. Everyone's screams got louder for a second and then altogether...they stopped completely. Taken laughed in his head, one of the jounins had turned him over to face the ceiling.  
  
     Everyone's faces had turned into unreadable blobs. He tried to blink a few times but that did nothing. _I'm sorry guys, it looks as though I've failed you all once again. I'm so, so sorry._ He soon saw nothing and the voices inside of his head and all around him went silent.  
  
  
  
     Taken woke up in a hospital bed, with Kyosuke sitting in a chair right next to him. "Kyo-" He tried to say, but his voice was horribly hoarse. Kyosuke turned towards him and a huge smile appeared on his face. "You finally woke up, thank the heavens!" He exclaimed as he stood up quickly. "You have no idea how worried we all were, what happened up there, kid?" Taken shook his head, "I-I have no idea." He replied, trying out his voice again.  
  
     "I thought I had everything under control an then," he gestured to the hospital bed he was laying in. "This happened. I...I really didn't want to let them down this time." Kyosuke walked over to sit on the edge of Taken's bed and ruffled his hair. "I'm sure you didn't completely let them down. They might be a bit disappointed, yes, but I bet they'll he even more relieved to see that you're okay." Taken nodded sullenly and looked down at his hands, they were sweaty and still shaking.  
  
     "What-what happened? To them, I mean? They didn't get disqualified did they?" Taken Ohshi asked. Kyosuke shook his head and a wave of relief washed over the boy. "They didn't technically get disqualified but the competition had to be cut short. The couple who owned the bakery understood the situation and they said that it was okay since we did get a lot of work done, so they'll be getting someone else to deliver the rest of the cakes. So, don't worry." Taken sighed out loud and put his head in his hands. "I ruined everything, again," he muttered to himself. _I bet Kyosuke is just trying to make me feel better. Hina will surely yell at me, Kira will...well she'll probably be upset and Shino...oh god. Do I dare think about what he would do? What he would_ think?   
  
     Kyosuke looked at Taken with a face full of pity. "If you're still worrying about this whole thing, please stop. Everyone was worried about you, especially your team. Just be glad that you're alright now, okay?" Taken looked up at the Jounin, his vision blurring with unshed tears, and nodded. "Okay."

**Author's Note:**

> This is a new story that I came up with where every character in the book is an OC, but of course there's Naruto and everyone else. Even though I already made the story for this, you can still sign up for a part because I'm also planning on making a second book. Or maybe even a series if I'm up for it. But, here's the link anyway: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1gWa45DHTa_aZSnHWfScjyncg-Cp1Oxm3vMa_M4i-CSA/viewform


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